A trip to Utah for me and Camo

Camo has been one of my project dogs at AFF since this past summer so when I was asked if I would consider a crazy last minute trip to Best Friends in Utah for a meeting with a possible adopter, I couldn't say no. We were driven down to JFK and although Camcam pooped while we were waiting in line to get checked in, he was overall an amazingly well behaved traveler. Once we landed in Las Vegas we rented a big SUV (with tinted windows!) that could hold both me & Camo and the huge plastic carrier he flew in. We were already getting comments about the fact that I am so small/short and the fact that Camo is so tall/big, I bet anyone seeing me climb out of the SUV (yes I had to CLIMB) would have had a good laugh. It took us four hours to drive to Kanab and we arrived at 3am.
We quickly settled in to our hotel room at the Holiday Inn and went to sleep.


In the morning we took a walk around town and stopped in a place called Laid Back Larry's for breakfast. It was perfect. They had a tofu "egg salad" sandwich so I got that and some coffee. The woman behind the counter as well as the other patrons all fussed over Camo and gave him lots of treats. There were pictures of animals all over the walls and I saw that they had lots of fake meats and vegan "dairy" products in their fridge. Awesome! We ate outside on the deck in the sun and it was a nice way to start the day.

Around noon, we made our way to Dogtown HQ at Best Friends and met Sherry, Lisa, and Whitney who were all in on Cam's adoption. Whitney, one of the trainers at BF, had fostered Camo for about 6 months previously so when he saw her he went nuts with excitement. She told me that he was originally supposed to be named "Camel" but that she thought it was weird and changed it to Camo. While we waited for the potential adopters to arrive, I got to follow a dog caregiver named Skip around for a few hours. John, a volunteer from Brooklyn, and I walked a few dogs, got to watch new dog introductions, helped put together the second daily feeding, and cleaned and washed lots of food and water bowls.

When I was done, the adopters had arrived and had already started to hang out with Camo in one of the office rooms. I showed them some of the tricks we had worked on like "spin" and weaving through my legs and I talked to them about the ins and outs of Camo-life; what he likes doing, what he doesn't like, how to get his attention, etc. I really hoped that they would connect with him. We went out to the parking lot and the family took Cam to their car and off they went for a sleep over. I got teary-eyed knowing that I would probably never see him again but was happy that he was getting a really good shot at a new home and that if it didn't work out, I had met all the people that would take care of him again at BF and they all adored him and had missed him since he had come out east a year and a half ago.

When I finally got home after more driving and more flying, I was told that the family had fallen in love over two sleep overs and that Sherry was driving him to do the dog introductions to their current two female dogs. So as I type this entry, he is out west somewhere most likely getting to know his new siblings. Good luck Camo!

The other end to this story is that I came home to MORE animals than when I had left. Our neighbor's cockatiel who Dave agreed to watch was in the turtle room whistling away and the next day we found a very skinny kitten up the driveway screaming and wailing. She is now also housed in the turtle room in a big dog crate for the time being. Dave decided to name her Teen. More news on her very soon.

A trip to Utah for me and Camo

Mind games with Coleman!

I meant to post a video of Coleman playing with his Nina Ottosson puzzle a long time ago and never got around to it so here it is now.

Mind games with Coleman!

It's a doggie Christmas here

I have been wanting to buy one of these Nina Ottoson dog puzzles for a while now but never could justify spending the money on one as they are not cheap. But the planets have aligned and we've bought our first puzzle! My mother gave me some money to specifically buy something fun for myself so this is what I spent it on.
We bought our "Dog Trubble" at Hooked on Dogs today and have already tried it out. Coleman has to move the hollow wooden pegs to one end of the puzzle for the pegs to be able to be overturned and the treats to be revealed. Coleman got the hang of it quickly, pawing at the pegs and pushing them with his nose but doesn't really understand yet that they will ONLY come loose at one end. Right now it's sort of more like by accident that they end up in the right place. Our only problem right now is that he plays so enthusiastically that sometimes the pegs go flying across the room when he gets them to the right spot and then the treats go flying too and then we have to try to find them. (another level to the game?) Also the puzzle wants to slide all over the place on our hard wood floors so I have to figure something out. I put them on his blanket but that moves around too.
So yeah, it's sort of like Christmas over here with such a nice present that I've wanted for so long!

It's a doggie Christmas here

Ah! Puppies!

We're fostering 5 week old puppies for a bit before I leave for Japan. One boy and one girl. The girl is much much bolder and the boy is a mama's boy who whines a lot. I have a new found respect for mothers who have to constantly care for newborns. They need so much of your time! At least these fuzzies are super cute. Coleman is somewhat of a control freak so he doesn't see what all the fuss is about puppy mania. He is bewildered by their chaos and likes them much better when they are sleeping.

Ah! Puppies!

Coleman Fushihara CGC!

Here in the photo I'm just holding up our class graduation certificate but... Coleman passed his Canine Good Citizen test tonight! I am very happy and Coleman doesn't know the difference. We have had a long journey, Coleman and me. He's been my only constant companion for more than a decade and I've learned so much about forgiveness, patience, and love from him. I am positively sure that without him, I would not have the self confidence or the compassion that I know I've gained in these past ten or more years that I lacked to varying degrees before. He is my love.

Coleman Fushihara CGC!

Coleman goes to class

I don't have a picture to post with this but Coleman and I started going to group classes last week. We're taking the Canine Good Citizen class at Animal Farm Foundation where I volunteer. I've dreamed of getting him his CGC (it's sort of a title you earn after you pass the Canine Good Citizen test) ever since he was young but we never found the right place to go for training in the city that I could afford and he needs to brush up on some of his behaviors. He has had trouble with being reactive to dogs when he is on leash so that has always been the main hurdle. In our first class though, he had no outbursts and stayed focused the whole time even with dogs on both sides of us that really wanted to come check him out. I am grateful that Bernice and Ashley made sure to set him up for success, even asking me at the door if he would do better entering the classroom last or before the room filled up. We might not pass our first time around (or maybe we will) but we'll be working hard for the next 6 weeks so we'll be as ready as we can.

Coleman goes to class

More friends & sad tomatoes

Princess is here so now we have three dogs. It took the last few days to get into a good routine with everyone but I think I figured out how to make everything go smoothly now. They are getting along very well with supervision.

I spent part of the day yesterday trying to finish pulling out my blighted tomato plants but I still have a ways to go. I have been putting fruit that is ripe and not diseased and green unblemished tomatoes in trays on the porch hoping that some of them will ripen and be okay but every day I have been checking on them and throwing any away that start showing blight. Look at all my trays!! And there is still more to go.

More friends & sad tomatoes

Little Friend Big Friend

Coleman's getting old although most people won't notice it. But I know. He is eleven. I took this picture of Coleman and his friend Gertie a few weeks ago for posterity. Not that either of them is going to die any day now but I realized that I didn't have a recent photo of them and thought I should get one before I forget considering the last one I took was maybe five years ago.

Then, digging through old photos I found this one of Coleman and his friend Buddy. Buddy passed away almost three years ago. Buddy was the dog Coleman looked up to like an older brother. I think we both miss him.

Little Friend Big Friend

Animal Farm Foundation Internship

Last week I had the good fortune to participate in a one week internship at Animal Farm Foundation. There were nine of us in this session; women from Massachusetts, New York City, and Albany. We heard lectures ranging from kennel enrichment to nutrition to adoptions and marketing and everything in between. We had hands on clicker training workshops and dog play groups. Each intern was also assigned a project dog to work with everyday. I got to work with Camo who is an advanced trick learner and we worked on "Spin" and walking under and through my legs. I wanted to eventually work up to "Zig Zag" which is where you have the dog walk through your legs back and forth while you walk so I might take some time on Thursdays after training class to do that. We also worked on his "Stay" while I circled him. Dogs don't normally like to stay in place when they can't see you. He did well and by the end of the week I could have him "Down Stay" while I walked all the way around him four times. What a good boy.

A highlight of the week for me was the Frisbee/disc demo that Nadja and Thelma did for us. What a treat. They did it in the horse riding arena so the ground was a lot softer than what Thelma is used to working on but she did great anyway. Take a look.

One of the hotly discussed subjects during the week was what and how to call what we normally refer to as Pit Bulls. Most dogs called Pit Bulls aren't even genetically of the breeds regularly known as Pit Bulls like the American Staffordshire Terrier or Staffordshire Bull Terrier so even with the best of intentions are we doing the dogs a disservice by labeling them by their looks? Or should we be promoting exceptional dogs as Breed Ambassadors to promote a better picture of what the public think of Pit Bulls? Should we call dogs of unknown ancestry "American Shelter Dogs"? It's something that I'm still trying to get my head around since I have been a "Pit Bull Aficionado" for so long. One of the studies we discussed is partially online. "Visual vs. DNA Identification of Dogs"
You can also scroll down and look at "Can you find the Pit Bull"

For a few days after the internship I seriously thought about immediately changing careers but I am now thinking that I should take the opportunity while I have the influence, to use my job to promote as widely as possible, things I learned during the week as well as general animal welfare issues. I decided it would be a shame to squander the audience I have already, especially in Japan where it is so incredibly backwards. Did anyone else see the CBS Sunday Morning clip about pets in Japan and the rent a doggie store??? So messed up.... Anyone with $25 can rent a dog for an hour.
There is lots of work to do.

Animal Farm Foundation Internship

Coleman not feeling well

Poor Coledog has a urinary infection. First one he's ever had. He peed on the floor in the middle of the night and had blood in his pee. He's on Clavamox now..... should be better shortly. While we were at the vet's office this morning the vet also checked his hind legs and gave us lots of new supplements for his arthritis. His morning regimen is going to be intense.

Coleman not feeling well

Spending time with the dogs

Since moving up here I've been volunteering at Animal Farm Foundation every week. I go every Friday to walk my four "project dogs" and I try to go to as many training classes as I can on Thursdays. Volunteers get project dogs assigned to them to spend time with and walk until they are adopted so you get to know your dogs really well.... unless of course they get adopted right away. I have had the pleasure of having Jasmine as a project dog for a while now. She originally came in with her puppies but they all got scooped up right away. Why people favor puppies over adult dogs, I will never understand. Sure they are rolly poly and have fat little cute tummies and stumble around and chew on you (wait is that fun?), but they take up soooo much more time and they get into all sorts of trouble, chewing on dangerous wires etc, pee and poo everywhere....... I personally will take an adult dog over a puppy any day. If I had more money I would adopt Momma Jaz in a second.She is so sweet and she lets me hug her, even though you aren't really supposed to hug dogs since they don't really like it, and she likes to sniff at my face which I like, and the way she hops instead of runs after toys is so funny. I love her. I wish someone would hurry up and come take her home. She's been waiting her turn.

Spending time with the dogs

Thelma has a home!

I`m in Japan right now but I got news that Thelma was adopted by her foster moms at Hooked on Dogs and I am soooooo excited! I have been a big fan of Wallace for a long time but now there will be an all girl team to be rooting for. Whoot whoot!
This video of her is making me smile and tear up at the same time. I love you Thelma!

Click To Play

Thelma has a home!

The woods

Nature walks with Coleman are my favorite.

The woods