Weekend Update

News from New York!

Opal Hound arrived in New York

We believed Opal Hound, our first foster, to be mostly American black-and-tan coon hound. Word comes from Helping Hounds in DeWitt, NY, however, that Opal is ALL smooch hound!

Dog Runner arrived in New York today on schedule and all passengers safe and apparently happy. Several of our Texas dogs were met on arrival by eager adopting families. These lucky dogs will be spending their first nights in New York in their new permanent homes.

Wish I could say Opal was among this fortunate group, but apparently that was not the case. She did, nonetheless, immediately win over several of the Helping Hound volunteers who fell in love with her as hard as Annie and I. We are satisfied "our" Opal is in good hands and hearts tonight.

New Title & Masthead

Readers may have notice (I hope!) a revised masthead (above) on this blog. Response to Fostering Opal has been so enthusiastically positive, we felt we had little choice but to continue the blog, even as we continue to foster rescue dogs along the Road to Forever. Thank you for your kind and generous support!!

While we changed the blog title and teaser, we left the URL web address the same so your bookmark will still bring you to this blog.

As for Char...SQUIRREL!!

Charlie discovers squirrels!

After a full 24 hours-plus on a round of antibiotics, Charlie Beagle was all but symptom free from kennel cough today. He was not quite as listless as he was yesterday, although he did pass most of his Saturday lounging on our bed and pointedly ignoring Beano's invitations to play.

Late in the afternoon I realized he had been out in the backyard on his own for a bit longer than usual. I thought it best to go check on him, becoming concerned when I could not find him!

Not quite ready to panic (I had spent part of Thanksgiving afternoon reinforcing a potentially vulnerable back corner of our fence), I finally spotted him. Charlie was absolutely motionless beside the east fence gazing up into the neighbor lady's cedar trees. So perfect was his hunter's posture, he had become all but invisible! 

I know it's in there somewhere!

Charlie had discovered squirrels!

Apparently, he had spotted a squirrel--we have a healthy population of them in our neighborhood--and was determined to find this strange tree critter. The squirrel, obviously having pressing business elsewhere, had departed; but that mattered not in the least to Charlie. He spent a good 20 minutes or better looking for the bushy-tailed tree runner.

Meanwhile, back at the crate...

 Progress has been made today with the crate training. We re-positioned Charlie's crate next to our bedroom and Beano's crate and moved his dinner dish into the crate. Charlie made a few tentative visits to grab a bite or two of kibble, especially when he discovered he could score a few morsels of leftover turkey!

Our sincere thanks to everyone who offered tips and suggestions on Charlie's crate training program! We shall see how the night goes.

Kennel Cough & Crate Issues

Charlie feeling off his feed with kennel cough

Dry hacking and runny nose

Seems the latest bout of winter weather this past week is taking its toll on dogs as well as we two-leggeds. Charlie started hacking with what we suspected to be kennel cough.

Kennel cough actually is tracheobronchitis and also known as Bordetella. The infection is highly contagious and commonly flairs up in dog kennels, shelters, animal control centers and other areas where numbers of dogs share close quarters.

Antibiotics typically are called for as treatment, and Dr. Brookings, our shelter vet, was quick to prescribe a round for Charlie. This should have Charlie in the pink for his health certification check-up next week and a green light for his travels to New York.

Crate avoidance behavior

I'm not budging, and you can't make me.

Somewhat more serious, in terms of making the Dog Runner transport next week, is Charlie's adamant stubbornness against taking to his crate.

Crate training is a top priority for our New York bound hounds as they will be living in crates for five days on the road. The dedicated dog wranglers may handle dozens of dogs each trip, and a traveler who doesn't do well with crates typically is dropped from the program.

That first night here Charlie fell for the old treat-lure trick to get him in his crate. He tolerated the box for about an hour before cutting loose with persistent, loud beagle baying!

Perhaps we gave in too easily, but the neighbors are jealous of their sleep. Anyway, we let Charlie out that night, and he proved to be a perfect bed mate, soundly sleeping through the night without any tossing and turning.

Clearly, this dog had a home where he was loved before falling on hard times and ending up on the streets.

Night Two: The tempting treat was offered, but Charlie was having none of it. Not only did he ignore the canine candy, he even snapped at me when I tried physically moving him from the bed.

Night Three: Canine Candy was replaced with a tempting morsel of Thanksgiving ham. Having had what may well have been his first taste of ham only a couple of hours earlier, Charlie was definitely interested. I held it just beyond his reach at the edge of our bed. Charlie snatched it quick as a frog nailing a dragonfly!

So we are reaching out to our fellow fosters and other dog friends who follow this blog. What tricks have you found effective in successfully dealing with crate avoidance issues? We would be grateful for any suggestions you care to share in the comments space below or on our Facebook page. 

Where Did Dogs Come From?

Chauvet cave in the Ardeche valley of southern France is renown for wall art dating back to 30,000 B.C.E. Often overlooked by the world at large and overshadowed by the spectacular paintings of animals of the day, is a track of footprints on the cave floor. Archaeologists have dated the tracks back some 26,000 years, making them a prime candidate for the oldest human footprints in Europe.

The footprints were made by a boy about nine years old. Trailing along side the boy's steps are the prints of a largish canine judged to be about midway between a wolf and a dog.

DNA evidence strongly suggests that today's dogs evolved from several various species of wolves once populating Europe, Asia and northern Africa. Not surprising given the rise of the first human civilizations in the Fertile Crescent region of present-day Iraq and Iran. However, DNA and archaeological evidence indicate proto-dog also originated in China. It is highly likely that several lines of proto-dogs evolved from various species of wolves, jackals and other wild canids at numerous geographical sites and at various times.

Artist impression of a Mesolithic Village
source: bettercaninehealth.org.uk

One notable exception is North America's timber wolf. Scientists have not found any evidence of any kind that timber wolves evolved an American dog species.

These observations seemingly point to one inevitable conclusion: modern humans and modern dogs evolved together, forming the oldest human-companion animal bond known to man. Seems we did not domesticate the dog so much as dog and man cooperatively domesticated one another.

Little wonder that we love our dog companions so!

The Second Time Around

(Comments made in blue text are Annie's thoughts)

Isn't that the way it goes? The first gets all the pictures taken, one or three albums dedicated exclusively to their special moments. They're the focus of post after post daily on half a dozen social networking outlets. Heck, entire blog entries go on and on about the nature of their poop, for cryin' out loud!

Charlie Beagle

Then the second comes along, maybe even a third, and...well...the bloom tends to fade from the lily, so to speak.

Lord, don't we treat our pets just like our children, often in more ways than we are comfortable owning up to!

By accident of birth, I happen to be the first born of four. I would be the last one to suggest that our mom loved any one of us more than any other, for her love was unconditional across the board. Yet, everyone knew; Mom liked me best.

So it goes with foster dogs, as well. If it hasn't happened to you yet, I dare say that it will, sooner or later.

Our first foster, Opal Hound, was...is...special to us. We came within a breath of adopting her ourselves, and it purely was knowing that we could not give her the physical space and exercise a hound her size needs that prevented us from keeping her. So off Opal went to Helping Hounds in New York where someone would give her a home to fit her particular needs.

With Opal, it truly was a case of love at first sight on my part. She had me from the moment I laid eyes on her face in a Facebook posting.

Now comes Charlie Beagle; an older, calmer, smaller addition to our family of two humans, a house dog, four cats and a bird. Love at first sight with Charlie? Mmmm, not so much.  

I beg to differ. Beano and I are smitten.

Please understand, I like Charlie. I like Charlie a lot, in fact. I just do not love Charlie with an intensity to match my love for Opal.

Charlie will make some family an outstanding, loving pet. He is bright, attentive when he wants to be, house trained, well mannered, maybe a little sloppy with his dining habits, well behaved on a leash, comfortable in a crate (except at night, alone in a strange room) and is not excessively vocal. 

He is a Beagle after all, so his bark is quite distinctive and when he bays, the Beagle hound in Beano perks right up!

Beano and Charlie take a break between wrestling bouts.

Moreover, he is a great companion for our beagle/Boston, Beano, as they share some common breed traits, are well matched in size and are about the same age. Charlie is curious concerning the cats, but he does not chase nor otherwise antagonize them. As for the bird, he's is fairly ambivalent. 

Beano seems to have taken to Charlie and vice versa. I think Opal, as much as Jim and I were infatuated with her, intimidated our older pup. She was taller and livelier than he was used to, and could easily wrest away his favorite toys. He can be quite selfish! Charlie, so far, has shown absolutely NO interest in cow, Beano's best inanimate buddy. That makes Charlie A-OK in Beano's books!

And while we have not had an opportunity to introduce Charlie to small children, we have no reason to believe he would be tempted to eat one, even if they did deserve it.

Charlie is a great dog. If it were not so, I would tell you, because that's my job. But when it comes to puppy love, the chemistry simply isn't there this time around. And I can tell you, this is a much more comfortable place from which to foster a deserving dog along the Road to Forever. 

Charlie had my heart from our first meeting, several days before we picked him up. I too, think he will be a wonderful addition as some family's forever dog. Beano and I intend to enjoy the heck out of him while he visits with us.

So it is that while Charlie is our second foster, he certainly does not rate second-best!

UPDATE: Morning of Day One

This just in

After beginning his first night in a strange house bunking down in a strange crate, Charlie Beagle passed a quiet night of deep slumber...between Annie and this blogger.

All doubt seems put to bed, following this latest development. Charlie once had a home where he enjoyed master bed privileges.

Stay tuned to this blog for further developments, and have a good day.

A Bit of Hair of the Dog

 Sending Opal on her way

The toughest thing we did today, saying So long! to Opal.

 Someone in New York state may not know it yet, but a beautiful black and tan princess is headed their way. Whoever you are, rest assured this gal will steal your heart in a heartbeat.

Nothing about fostering rescue dogs is tougher than that final day. When it came down to it, all I could do was lead Opal into Dog Runner's capable hands, turn and walk away. 

Even as I type, I can't look at the picture here on the right. Somehow, these lines are blurry on the screen.

This, I suppose, is the selfish side of fostering. Damn dog!

We would have liked more time to visit with Dog Runner and to learn a bit more about the road trip our Texas hounds are taking to DeWitt, NY. DR's transport can handle up to 60 dogs, each with their own private travel crate. The logistics of potty stops, exercise breaks, meals and the unloading-loading required with each must be a wonder to behold! However, Departure Day is not exactly the ideal time to go for an interview.

One of these days, though, we intend to make the trip down to visit the good folks in Flower Mound who ramrod this canine wagon train. Stay tuned!

 Charlie Beagle on board!

Co-pilot Charlie Beagle on my shoulder.

We put Opal on Dog Runner's transport at 4:30 this afternoon, then headed the Blazer over to the HSWC shelter. Seems the best cure for foster separation anguish is hair of the dog, i.e., the next fostering challenge!

Shelter director Cheryl Miller had tagged this 4-year-old male beagle mix named Charlie for us last week. In fact, we met Charlie briefly while at the shelter for Opal's final medical exam.

Charlie remained calm at my approach, sniffing politely at my proffered hand. He was shivering, shifting weight from one foreleg to the other as he sat on the cold concrete floor. With the softest of whimpers, his eyes begged, "Take me out of here, please, sir!"

We know next to nothing about Charlie. He came to the shelter after being "arrested" as a homeless stray. Apparently, he carried no identification.

Charlie demonstrated immediately that he had not been homeless all his life. He patiently allowed me into his enclosure, nor did he make a fuss as I placed a collar on him. On leash he showed no signs of leash training, but neither did he fight the lead. Charlie simply put his nose to the ground and set at at a determined pace, his tail signalling Let's GO!

Our bed feels a lot like home!

In the shelter office he remained curious, sniffing at everything and everyone calmly and methodically. When Annie opened the door to leave, Charlie was the first one out.

Charlie showed not the slightest anxiety riding in the Blazer. This obviously was not a new experience. In fact, he showed a marked and determined preference for riding in the front seat! We struck a compromise, and Charlie rode most of the way home on my left shoulder.

Arriving at the house, Charlie eagerly walked with me to the back yard while Annie went inside. We thought it best to let Charlie meet his Lead Trainer, Beano, outside.

Both dogs took to one another from the get-go. Cautiously at first, to be sure, but with much mutual circling and sniffing of respective nether regions, as dogs are want to do. And while Charlie was cordial, shall we say? It was clear to see that he was more interested in sniffing out and marking his new patch.

Annie: I was curious how Beano would take to another male in the house, so was very pleased to see them getting on so well. I wonder if this may have something to do with the fact that they are a similar breed and size.  It was almost as if they were taking turns to see who was the dominant dog with some amusing dance moves displayed. In any case, the next couple of weeks will be most interesting.

Inside the house, Charlie was curious about the cats, but only mildly so. He showed no aggression whatsoever. As with the yard, his first priority was thoroughly sniffing out all nooks, crannies and corners of all rooms open to him. He showed no interest at all in jumping on furniture other than our bed, the exploration of which brilliantly he saved for last and immediately curled up and made himself quite comfortable.

So after some initial playing, a couple of trips back to the yard, more inside play, a little begging for a taste or two of people food, another exploratory sniff around the house, and a quick bath, both beagle boys claimed respective spots near one another on our bed and quietly passed out.

They are softly snoring still.

A Few Lessons Learned

My "adopted" brother, Dean Porter, and I were chilling in the back yard the other day. While we watched Beano and Opal Hound tussle over an old tennis ball, our talk roamed back to our black-and-white days of distant youth, when both boys and dogs pretty much had free run of their neighborhoods. 

From left: Allen Dean Porter, James Brian Miller,
author and (front) grillminder Beano Boglen Miller

As boys we had freedoms that kids today cannot imagine. Not that it was all that easy to get away with anything. We had such freedom because everyone else in the neighborhood knew who we were and to whom we belonged and would not hesitate to drop a dime on us if they suspected we might be up to no good. 

The same, pretty much, was true for our dogs.

Sadly, often tragically, those days of innocence are no more and may well never return. I'd like to think I'm wrong, but I doubt it. I'd like to think we can rebuild communities where residents of all ages enjoy the freedoms we once experienced and took for granted. Until such time as we do rebuild the true American Dream of equitable, sustainable security for all creatures, two-legged and four-legged alike, we will continue to have a need for rescue and foster programs.

Time Out, dude! Somethin' bit me!!

Why foster 

Five to seven million pets enter animal shelters every year in this country.

Three to four million companion animals are executed each year because of a lack of shelter space and not enough people to adopt these homeless ones.

For every homeless person in America there are five homeless animals.

Only one in ten puppies born today will find a permanent, lasting home. 

Deciding to foster

Two NEVERs in which I believe whole-heartedly: NEVER give a puppy or kitten as a special-occasion or holiday gift, and NEVER rush to foster--or adopt--because you saw a cute photo on Facebook!

The decision to foster an animal is loaded with consequences, many of which arrive unforeseen unless you've done extensive homework. Taking in a strange dog, even if it is "only two weeks", is a life-altering event on so-o-o-o many levels! Horror stories abound about that cute little puppy that chewed its way through sheetrock, fiberboard and electrical wiring to get from the garage into the house in ONE afternoon!!

First and foremost, everyone in the household--animals as well people--must be given full consideration in the decision. All humans concerned certainly should be in agreement on fostering. Certainly consider any other animals already established in the home. Discuss division of labor and responsibilities for the "guest" animal, and do NOT overlook the considerable amount of time needed for play and social interaction with your sleep-over dog.

Second most, be dead on sure about your commitment. Rescue and shelter dogs already have been kicked to the curb at least once in their lives. DO NOT BE THE REASON THEY GET KICKED AGAIN!

Please, sir, may I stay?

If I haven't scared you off by this point, the third thing to do is get thee to your nearest animal shelter. Visit with as many staff members and volunteers as you can (without getting in the way!), ask questions, observe and thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of fostering with the folks working the program day in and day out.

IF--Big IF--for whatever reason you do not have good feelings about the shelter or the folks working there, politely tell them "Thank You" and WALK AWAY! No doubt you can find two or three other shelters to visit within an hours' drive of your residence.

I say this for one crucial reason. A successful fostering program depends on absolute trust and full cooperation between your family and the shelter family. Say, for example, you do not feel comfortable calling up your shelter contact person at 2:37 a.m. because your foster dog woke you "wheezing funny", then you need to be working with a different shelter.

In the Wichita County, Texas, area I cannot recommend highly enough Cheryl Miller's crew at the Humane Society of Wichita County and their Foster Babies program.

There are any number of good websites you can check out while considering fostering. One good place to start is 20 Questions to Ask Before You Foster a Dog at Petfinder.com.

One chapter ends, another begins

Waiting out the weather...

Just in from letting the dogs have a romp on the ice-crusted back yard. They had a time of it -- Chase!, Tug-O-Tennis Ball, Top Dawg Championship Wrasslin' -- in spite of the 30F degrees.

Opal Hound seems much less mindful of the cold than does Beano. His mamma's folk, Boston terriers, are not for not liking temperature extremes, and in that regard the Bean favors his mamma.

Beano Miller

This is a transition weekend. A winter weather advisory in effect through Monday is icing on the cake--not to mention roads, bridges and overpasses. Two to four inches of snow and/or sleet is forecast for our neck of the Rolling Plains in the next two days. Opal's scheduled departure Sunday afternoon has been pushed back to Monday afternoon. All fosters are on "stand-by" for further delays as this storm system moves east, covering at least the first few hundred miles of the Road to Forever and Helping Hounds.

Make room for Charlie!

Our next guest was scheduled to check in Sunday, and that has been reset for Monday, as well. Yes, Anniepie and I decided to stay in the HSWC Foster Babies program for another go 'round. Besides the overwhelming need for folks to foster shelter pets, I think a huge factor in our decision is Beano!

Annie and I both will miss Opal. She had us from that first anxious moment at the shelter. Knowing that she is bound for Helping Hounds and an excellent shot at adoption is why our hearts are aching but not breaking.

But what about Beano? This little spoiled terrier had to overcome some tough jealousy and possessiveness issues in those first several days. So much so, in fact, that allowing Opal to remain with us was in jeopardy. By this final week, though, Beano and Opal Hound had bonded like true siblings, in spirit if not in blood. How, we wondered, would Beano take Opal's absence?

John Brandshaw clued me in to a little of what I've come to call Dog Zen, seeing the world and events through the heart and mind of a dog.

    The new canine science reveals that dogs are both smarter and
    dumber than we think they are. For example, they have an almost
    uncanny ability to guess what humans are about to do, because of
    their extreme sensitivity to our body language, but they are also
    trapped in the moment, incapable of projecting the consequences of
    their actions backward or forward in time.

Dog Sense, p. xxii

Dogs may indeed be creatures locked in "the Now." Yet hundreds of years, and even more hundreds of generations of dogs and humans, of codependent relations provide abundant anecdotal evidence that dogs "miss" close friends who have passed on.

I, for one, have no doubt Beano is going to feel the loss of his sister. Better, I believe, to bring in the next foster dog sooner rather than later. Beano will have little time to pine as Charlie, a beauty of a beagle Beano's age (4), is set to check in even as Opal departs.

Putting 'The Dread' to Bed

Doesn't have to hurt to say 'Good bye!'

Don't ask me to explain it. I can't. All I know is I woke up this morning feeling 100% okay with Opal Hound leaving Sunday.

That is mine, right?

Yes, both Annie and I seriously considered adopting our first foster rather than packing her off to New York. That's one way to get around the heart aches of separation, I suppose, but one old--excuse me, mature--couple can only adopt so many critters. We're at our limit with Beano, four cats and a noisy bird!

We could have, would have made room for Opal somehow, and therein lies the rub. Room. Space. Our little quarter-acre lot simply is not big enough for a hound who needs room--lots of room--to bound and romp. Opal Hound at the very least needs a small farm, a country home with space and distances to unlimber those glorious, long legs of hers!

Preparing a dog for this journey halfway across the continent is almost as bad as getting a kid ready for sleep-away camp! Five days' worth of food in daily meals baggies, blanket, collar and leash, KONG, treats, favorite toy(s) and all packed in a travel bag appropriately labelled with the dog's name.

Again, there is the health certification exam tomorrow that Opal must pass before she get's her ticket stamped for Sunday. She's ready. So are we. Well, we will be...after the packing!

T-minus 5...

Just chewing on an old trumpet vine pod

Contented dog days of autumn

How can you help not wonder what is going on behind that stare?

Tuesday afternoon and the south wind has a bit of a breath on it. Patchy clouds allow enough warming rays through to make puttering around the yard comfortable with a long-sleeved flannel shirt.

Opal Hound bounds through clumps of leaves collected by the wind, searching for a communal, ratty old tennis ball. She brings it to me, hesitates only slightly before releasing the ball when told to "let go", then leaps expectantly for me to toss it across the yard. Once launched, she is off like a shot to beat Beano to it!

A couple or three rounds of the ball usually is enough for her. She takes it to a spot on the grass and begins gnawing on it, holding the ball between her over-sized front paws.

Two and a half weeks isn't much time to teach a rambunctious pup, even if you know what your doing and have all day,every day to work on it. We are not professional trainers. Our goals--make that GOAL--were simple; get Opal comfortable enough being in a crate for a 5-days road trip.

I think we're there. Just now, as I type, Opal silently slipped onto Beano's crate beside our computer station. She's now snoring softly. Nor is this new behavior. Still somewhat reluctant to enter her borrowed transport crate at bedtime, she will take short naps in Beano's two or three times in a day.

Sometimes you just feel compelled to gnaw on a stick.

We have played some with the leash. Opal is less than enthusiastic about being collared and tends to roll onto her back, refusing to cooperate. Once collared and out the door, however, she is eager to explore.

Opal is curious about other dogs and people encountered along the way, but we keep her a cautious distance from strangers, canine and otherwise.

We also have worked with two simple commands, "sit" and "let go." Appropriate responses to either is spotty, at best.

Again, I'm aware the fault lies with the trainer, not the trainee!

Medication Hump Day!

Transport Day minus 6

The lovely and talented Julie Andrews notwithstanding, half a slice of American cheese helps the medicine go down as far as Beano and his foster "Li'l Sister" are concerned. Three days into a five-day antibiotic regimen and neither dog is displaying upper respiratory infection symptoms. Energy levels are at or near normal, and appetites are back!

Which means, of course, we are back on track, now, at Transport Day minus six and counting. W-e-l-l-l-l...um, almost. There is the little matter of Opal Hound's final health certification exam on Thursday, but I'm fairly certain she will ace it. We've been studying for it for three days!

Playing and Displaying...

Warm weekend ideal for Beano and foster Li'l Sister

One observation from this bout of snotty noses I found telling: Both dogs seemed to prefer being outside rather than in the house. Beano--who had it the roughest--spent most of Saturday sprawled in the sun and totally ignoring everything going on around him. While Opal teased him to play with her, he would have none of it.

Normally, Opal would have pressed and taunted without mercy until Beano responded, one way or another. Saturday, she did not. She made initial overtures, looked at him for several seconds as if puzzled, sniffed his muzzle, then turned away and left him alone. Every so often she would walk over to him, lick his muzzle and return to her own devices.

By Sunday, Opal was symptom free and hyper energetic. Beano showed only minor sniffling and at least a willingness to play even if his endurance remained lacking. Their play (click for video) was fairly subdued, not a lot of running and chasing, but it did include some rather heavy bonding display.

Affiliation display, that special "Hello" kiss

Active displays used by both wolves in the wild and domestic dogs in the yard have been reevaluated over the past several years. Newer scientific studies suggest that much of what we formerly believed about dominance-submission hierarchies in wolf packs and, by progression, among dogs was wrong, according to best-selling author and animal behaviorist John Bradshaw.

Bradshaw is Foundation Director of the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Bristol and a dog enthusiast. He and others have noted two basic behaviors in wolves and dogs, affiliation display and 

A somewhat lazy "affiliation" greeting?

belly-up display, formerly classified as "submissive" behaviors.

Affiliation display

"The 'active' display is the more common one among wolves," Bradshaw wrote in Dog Sense (p.20). "Rather than being a sign of submission, is in fact a bonding signal."

In affiliation display dogs approach with tails low, posture somewhat crouched, ears back slightly and nuzzle muzzle-to-muzzle.

Clearly, affiliation display is a form of greeting, much like humans' hugging and kissing when meeting. No one at this party is displaying a "submissive" behavior; rather all parties concerned--in a wolf pack, several individuals may join in this behavior--are strengthening their relationship bonds.

Opal takes it to the next level, belly-up display.

Belly-up display

The second behavior is a sign of submission and not as common as affiliation. The belly-up display is typical of infant pups who roll onto their backs to show their exposed bellies to a parent or another adult.

Bradshaw suggests that adult wolves and dogs adopt and adapt this puppy behavior in an attempt to stave of a possible attack from a more dominant wolf or dog. Essentially the submissive one is saying, "Go ahead, rip my guts out, but I'd really rather that you did not!"

From my own observations, Opal does show submissiveness toward her much smaller, somewhat older foster brother Beano. She is quite content to let him be Top Dog. And yet, that does not stop her from bullying him with her sheer bulk! 

Meanwhile, in other news...

Opal shared an intimate nose-to-nose-through-a-chain-link-fence moment with the toddler next door. Neither spoke and the baby girl slowly backed away once she discovered someone was watching. There's a missed Kodak Moment not likely to come 'round again!

Sick as a Dog X 2

Well, hell, we've got two sick dogs.

Of the two, Beano Boglen, our resident terrier, is down the hardest with symptoms of an upper respiratory infection, but Opal Hound has been wheezing and sneezing as well. Having multiple dogs is a lot like having multiple human offspring; if one picks up something, they all share it around sooner or later.

One of the conditions of fostering is that signs of illness must be reported immediately to the Humane Society (HS). Technically, the foster dog remains the responsibility of HS, including any necessary medical care. Additionally, any dog scheduled for transport to New York must pass a final health certification exam.

Opal--aka "Olive", aka "Elvira", aka "Li'l Sister"--is scheduled to board the transport a week from tomorrow, and final medical exams must be done by no later than Thursday. Five days.

Can't say enough about the quick response from Jan Herzog and Cheryl Miller. We had antibiotics for both dogs in under two hours early on a Saturday morning. Only time will tell now if Opal makes her departure date.

Acceptance Leads to Friendship

No longer rivals, Beano plays puppy games with his foster "little" sister

Beano Boglen, our pint-sized pack alpha, is a selfish little dog. No two ways about it. As Beano sees "things", what's his is his and whatever is yours is his, as well. Sharing simply is not in his behavior set.

This feisty terrier is particularly greedy around food, leading to a blow up with Opal Hound that we reported on here. A second, minor skirmish flared the following day.

Besides the food thing, there is Beano's plush stuffed cow. "Cow" has been his constant companion since long before Opal joined our household, and he is not inclined to share this favorite toy any more than he is to share snacks. Naturally, Opal wants to play with Cow, too.

Pouting when things do not go his way is typical behavior. He goes sulking into his crate when he is reprimanded, or lies on the corner of the bed, mouthing Cow and glaring his hurt feelings.

Since the clash this past weekend, Beano's displeasure with Opal's presence became evident. His energy level fell. He spent more time guarding Cow, moving away if Opal approached or just happened to pass nearby. In short, Beano settled into a blue funk, wanting nothing to do with Opal and damned little to do with anyone else.

It's beginning to look a lot like foreplay!

At a loss to know how to handle Beano's apparent depression, I was beginning to wonder if we would have to leave the fostering program after Opal left us. I did not want to go there, but Beano's emotional health and happiness had to take precedence over fostering.

Crack of dawn this morning, I was up to stoke the central heat and open the crates for the dogs to go outside. Opal eagerly came bounding out and off to the backdoor, as usual. Beano, however, refused to budge from his crate.

Live with a dog long enough and you can "read" his expressions. As I sat on the floor at the open door of his crate, Beano was telling me, "I'm not sick in my body. I'm sick of that dog. I'm not happy."

All I could think at that moment was how to explain to the folks at the shelter that Opal had to leave and had to leave soon? I left for work with that dilemma praying on my mind.

Around mid morning Annie texted me at work. "They are licking and kissing and pawing all over each other! They are even playing with Cow together!!"

Now, as I type, they are both on our bed soundly sleeping through Wheel of Fortune mere inches apart. They have been playing puppy games together all day to the point of physical exhaustion, and I am at a total loss to understand Beano's about face.

Isn't this usually the way with children? When we "grown ups" try to intervene in conflict between siblings, more often than not we only make matters worse. Left to their own devices, dogs and small humans tend to be pretty good at working through their differences.

And I've got contented snores coming from the bed behind me to back that theory!

In From the Cold

Shoe??? What shoe???

Beginning Week 2

Someone left the north gate open last night, and an arctic air mass came roaring in on 30 mph winds. That's what's known as a blue norther in these parts, but seeing as how it blew in after dark, there's just no telling what color it was.

Opal Hound and her little buddy Beano have been confined indoors more than any of us really like. The dogs enjoy their romps in the back yard, exchanging rumors on the Bow-Wow grapevine with other hounds of the hood. Nor do we two-leggeds have to spend quite so much time "domesticating" a 50-pound puppy with a penchant for chewing when we can declare "exercise time" in the yard.

This chewing thing, common among puppies, did not manifest itself until the past couple of days, right at one week since she checked in to this fostering canine bed & breakfast. Along with the chewing--first on Annie's slippers--came exploring under our bed and snooping into nooks and crannies in the back catch-all room and closets. We're pretty sure she bribes the cats to open the doors for her!

Opal, I'm told, also whines briefly at the front door any time I leave and do not take her, and she usually come bounding across the hardwood to greet me when I return. I'm certainly no dog expert, but to me these recent behaviors indicate Opal Hound is feeling "at home".

Damn dog!

On the one hand, I'm thrilled she is settling in and feeling comfortable. She is a great dog, deserving of a great home. What she doesn't know, however, is that she is not there yet. This place to which she is growing more and more accustomed is a way station at best.

So begin the separation pangs.

She had a home once upon a time. Then for reasons we will never know, she lost that home, ending up in a shelter, anxious and frightened.

Now we have returned her to a happier place. She's playful, often more playful than Beano cares for. Her appetite is healthy, even if we can't turn our backs on the kitchen counters when preparing meals. And she's feeling safe and secure enough to be the puppy she still is. Never mind she's bigger than most Shetland ponies!

Tearing it up out back in warmer fall days...like yesterday!

That all changes in under two weeks when she will leave this place she has come to know as home. We can only hope "our" Opal Girl--who's real name is secretly Olive--finds a final, forever happy place after her long trek to New York.

I don't know how long dogs remember. I do know, though, that when she boards that transport one slobber soaked, eagerly chewed gray leather slipper will go with her. I can only hope it helps. 

When Dogs Collide

This was bound to happen, sooner or later, and no one was at fault except myself. Beano and Opal Hound got into it last night. No injuries were sustained in the brief scrap that points out how essential it is to fully consider the personalities, likes  and dislikes of every member of the pack.

It's MY bread dammit!

Since Opal came to stay with us, Beano has received precious little ink in these pages, even though he is an essential player in fostering. So let's start off this Sunday morning by getting to know a little boglen terrier full of sass and attitude!

Beano has been with us going on four years, now, having been adopted from a co-worker two days after his birth. He is intelligent, loving, does not take kindly to bathing and can be extremely poutish when things do not go his way. I guess you could say Beano is the typical four-year-old...human four-year-old, that is. It's all about him!

Beano gets on well with Annie's four cats who tend to tolerate him. At least, they've stopped hissing and raising a clawed paw when he passes too near, and we have even caught Simba and Beano being almost playful toward one another. Cats being cats, of course, the playfulness comes to a screeching halt as soon as Simba sees they are being watched.

Beano is very open to other dogs, although Opal is only the second dog with which he's had the chance to bond. Our daughter's chihuahua-terrier mix, Patti Mayonnaise--yes, named after the Patti Mayo--is an occasional playmate. Both seem to enjoy their irregular play dates immensely. Beano is always totally tuckered after one of Patti's visits.

Opal, on the other hand, is the first dog to come into the pack and not leave. Therein lies the rub. Beano is territorial and terribly possessive, particularly when it comes to food.

On more than one occasion we have seen him stand guard over a crust of hard, dried out bread he clearly had no desire to eat (photo above). Yet he would give his Back Off! glare and a low, throaty grumble to anyone, man or beast, who dared approach his hoard.

So it was yesterday evening. The trigger was food. Annie had cooked a turkey breast and was slicing the meat from the carcass. The aromas alone were more than sufficient to get both Beano and Opal highly excited. 

Now, Opal stands a good two feet tall at the shoulder, and can clear a table or counter top before you can holler DOWN! Hollering does no good, anyway, as Opal, like most hounds, has excellent selective hearing. So working on the turkey with Opal at her elbow was a new and potentially frustrating challenge.

So to take the pressure off Annie, I collected several scrap bits of bird. Soon as I started for the back door both dogs knew what was up. There excitement peaked a whole 'nother level. It was when we stepped through the door onto the patio that Beano lunged into Opal.

Beano's attack was Pearl Harbor all over again without the carnage. He went straight for the throat, and caught Opal completely by surprise! At first, she tried to back out, but Beano pressed on. With a single swipe of a right paw she had Beano pinned on his back and abject terror in his eyes!

Ever try to separate two tangling dogs with two handfuls of turkey scraps? Lord, it must have been a sight for some ten or fifteen seconds!

After getting them apart, both dogs remained highly agitated. Neither, however, received a scolding. We just talked about it calmly and soothingly as I fed bits of roast turkey to each dog in turn. Each got a morsel. Each got quiet praise. Each got acceptance and understanding, and so it went until the last bits were devoured.

Dogs do not come into this world vicious. They are not haters from birth. Beano's hoarding behavior over food links back through his canine genes to ancestral wolf behavior. If there is fault here, it lies squarely on the shoulders of his human pack alphas. 

Oh, it's Saturday! It's Saturday!!

Dear Readers & Followers,

Almost bright and not that early this morning, the cry of the beloved spouse was heard echoing from our bed chamber....

AREN'T YOU GOING TO WORK!!!???

Right time, wrong day. Today is Saturday and my presence is not required down at the dealership. Today is a day for puttering and for tinkering, for playing outside with the dogs and for generally breaking out of the weekday seven-to-one routine. Saturday is, in short, a day for some things completely different.

Let's kick it off with a great big THANK YOU! to each and every one of you out there who have been reading, sharing and following Fostering Opal. This morning we topped 1,000 page views in the five days since this blog began. YOU did that!! And I can't help but believe that the more folks touched by Opal Hound's story, the more this rescue & fostering thing is gonna grow and grow.

We also want to give a big round of applause to JAN HERZOG, one of the top hands working without pay for the Humane Society of Wichita County (HSWC). Good Lord, with all the you-know-whos in Austin and Washington these days, HSWC and other not-for-profit-but-for-love outfits would be up the proverbial creek without dedicated folks like Jan. She primarily was responsible for saving Opal Hound from being put down and for hooking us up with fostering this sweet dog.

And we can't pass on the accolades without a shout out to P.E.T.S. Low-Cost Spay & Neuter Clinic. P.E.T.S. is "The Vet" for Beano and Annie's four--count 'em,  four!--cats as well as taking care of Opal's spaying.

Like it or not, the holiday gifting season is here. If you've got a list of impossible-to-buy-fors, don't settle for one more useless piece of crap they don't need. Rather, donate in their names to outfits like HSWC and the P.E.T.S. clinic. Believe me, your generous gifts could not be better appreciated nor put to better use.

I'll be over here grazin' while you're monkeying with that contraption...

Such a fantabulous day outside, we've gone "live remote" from the back yard, a.k.a. Miller's Cave, via our recently-acquired acer Chromebook. This is the first opportunity we've had to spend significant time outside the house, so we are trying out some new (to us) stuff for future postings here. As you can see above, we're still working out how to use ChromeCam! Excuse our progress, and stay tuned for future updates. 


Life's better outside. Get out and enjoy it!!

Call her anything but late for dinner!

Day 4

If you have food, call her "Opal!" If you have food, call her "Beano!" Either name works equally well if you're holding anything resembling a snack and/or meal. Heck, you can cluck like a chicken, and Opal Hound comes bounding across the hard boards, clicking her toes and trailing long, thin lines of coonhound drool!

Opal Hound proves she can be patient while Jim cuts the cheese.

And don't bother quoting to her from all those articles about how well dogs do on veggie and grains diets. Opal Hound is a committed carnivore.

We weren't concerned last night when post-op Opal showed no interest in her kibble. She'd eat in the morning after, the drugs had worn off.

"Morning" kicked in about 5:30. In the darkness, her tail softly thump...thump...thumped 

against the plastic wall of her crate. Still, she uttered not a whimper, nary a whine. Just her tail drumming on the side of her crate as if to say, "I hear you out there. I smell you near. I know you are coming to let me out."

Her crate opened, she made straight for the back door. First things first after a l-o-n-g night for this lady! 

She moved well, with a spring to her steps, as she trotted all around the border of the back yard. She took her squat and turned back toward the house, glancing only once over her shoulder to insure I was following. Opal showed no ill effects from her surgery.

So I was somewhat surprised when she again turned up her nose at the kibble. She scarcely sniffed at it before going directly to our bedroom and curling up beside Annie. The girl is showing herself to be a woman's dog.

Mrs. Miller's bed is THE place to be on a chilly November morning!
[From top] Simba, Beano, Opal Hound, Raja

After my shift at the dealership I was home a little after two. Annie reported that Opal still had not eaten, and her activity through the morning suggested she was neither sick nor feeling poorly from her surgery. Okay, time had come to do something.

I found a hunk of chuck roast in the fridge, left over from Sunday's back yard bash. Both Beano and Opal were at my side as I began slicing cold, medium-rare beef! The first quarter-inch thick slice was further cut into bite-sized pieces. Both dogs were drooling at attention. Pieces of meat were offered to both dogs simultaneously, because Beano can get super possessive and snappish when it comes to other critters and his chow.

Please, sir, may I have some more?

The good news, of course, is that Opal wasn't off her feed. She just doesn't care for the kibble served here! 

About halfway through dividing up the roast, my son Brian showed up at the front door. When I returned to the kitchen, several slices and the remaining hunk I had been carving from were gone.

Somehow, I seriously doubt that Opal Hound shared her purloined roast with brother Beano. Clearly, nothing consisting of meat or resembling meat can be left unattended on the kitchen cutting board.