Update on Rachel

My foster girl is getting adopted this weekend.  She had many people interested in her and many applications were filled out, but there were so many delays.  Rachel went through 2 rounds of a UTI and this time we are hitting it with more potent meds.  Then she had a home visit a few weeks ago with a great couple, and for some reason they didn't follow through with the adoption.  So finally, she got spayed yesterday, almost 6 months old.  She is the last of the puppies to still be in the rescue.  Joey and Pheobe were adopted.  Chandler had something wrong with his esophagus and couldn't keep any food down.  It wasn't really fixable, so sadly, he had to be euthanized.  It was definitely heart breaking and with no doubt, his foster momma was devastated.  I couldn't imagine this happening to my Rachel.  I've had her for 2 months at least and she's definitely melted every heart that she came in contact with.  Reuben got attached and they play often.  Jason snuggles with her a lot.  And I can't help but spoiling her with as much love as possible.  The hardest part will be this weekend when we say goodbye to her.  Meeting her new family and seeing their home last weekend really comforted me to know this is the best family for her.  They will give her everything she wants and will love her.  She seemed really happy on the home visit, too.  I'll miss this girl.

My New Foster Dog, Rachel

Meet Rachel.

She is 4 months old, full-blood yellow lab.  She is sweet, precious and affectionate. Her and her siblings are named after the characters of the Friends TV show. - Rachel, Pheobe, Joey and Chandler.

But the best thing of all is she is the most well-behaved puppy I've ever had in my home.

She hasn't destroyed my couch within the last 24 hours.  In fact, she hasn't destroyed anything.  She stays with her toys and that's it.

She knows what No means and takes great offense to it.  So she stays a good girl so she never has to hear it again.

100% accident free!  So far, potty training has been way too easy.  Even though she was kept in the shelters outdoors, she somehow knows her potty training.  She goes outside everytime.

She sleeps through the entire night.

She is with Lonestar Lab Rescue.  She isn't quite available just yet.  We are making sure her and her littermates are strong and healthy for a few weeks.  The litter of 4 were turned over into the shelter and I assume it was a breeder that couldn't sell them because they outgrew the cute little baby stage. GRRR.....If you are going to breed and you can't sell the litter to really great forever homes, then you need to take the responsibility and take care of them.  These people just turned them over to a city kill shelter.  Horrible!  Not only that, but the owner didn't even vaccinate or get them to a vet at all!  And then the shelter puts the puppies in outside kennels in this Dallas, TX heat.  It's still triple digits every day.  And they had a bazillion fleas all over them.  All the fleas are gone now, but they have a lot of itchy bite marks.  It looks like all of the puppies were allergic to fleas.  Poor babies.  She scratches so much.

Support Appreciated!

I have another blog kicking about my on-going fitness.  I'd love it if my friends that follow my personal blog, also hit up my fitness blog!  I could use the support, yal!  Love you!

Getting Beachbody Fit :  http://beachbodysteph.blogspot.com/

Shhh...Roo is asleep!

The Dogs Wanted A New Couch

And what better way to tell me they want a new couch than to destroy the current one, right?  Reuben and Arthur both woke me up early this morning.  I took them out to potty and we came back in.  They started playing and I went in the bedroom and passed back out in the bed.  I didn't think anything of it until an hour later, I went back into the living room and this is what I saw.

So frustrated!  They chewed up my expensive pair of glasses just a couple weeks ago!

So we spent our Sunday couch shopping.  We decided to go with a leather/pleather couch this time.  Something where I can easily wipe away dog hair and it doesn't absorb dog smells.  I'm hoping it will hold up to dog nails, though.  Here is what we ordered - an Ashley Alex Chocolate Sectional.  It will arrive in 2 weeks.

What I LOVE about Ashley Furniture is they give a 5 year warranty on everything.  Even if there is a hole, a rip, scratch or stain.  They will come and repair it.  If they can't fix it, it's replaced!

Bitey-Face Games

Roo and Arthur play hours and hours of bitey-face these days.  Here's a little snippet of what home-life is like around here now.

Meet Arthur

So I have me a temporary foster boy.  He'll be here for another week or 2.  He was a stray in the Ft Worth shelter and on the EU list to be put down.  DASH, Dallas Australian Shepherd and Herding dogs rescue came to his need.  The problem was there weren't any fosters available at the time so they put him in a boarding kennel resort for dogs.  He got a bath, but that was about as much grooming as they gave him.  He stayed there for 30 days.  I was contacted by a lady with DASH that knew of my love for Aussies and asked if I would take him for a few weeks.  He was getting stir crazy and I wanted to get him out of there.

The poor fella had some wild hair and much of it was matted up.  Even though he had a bath at the boarding, he was still very dirty.  The kennel staff told me he was in really bad shape when he came in.  He needed a hair cut really bad.  His fur was very unhealthy, brittle and dry.  Other parts were really oily and stuck together.  You could smell the oil from far across the room.  He was still dirty because when you bathe him, you couldn't get past the top layer of fur.  And he had this huge thick lion's mane that was unruly.  I felt bad for the guy, so I took him home and cleaned him up.  I cut his fur pretty short in hopes that more healthy fur would grow in.  I gave him a huge bath and it took so much hair off of him.  His undercoat just fell out with the Furminator brand Shampoo and Conditioner.  I trimmed his nails and cleaned some really nasty ears.  I believe he has an ear infection and ear mites, so he goes to the vet tomorrow.  But after his clean up, he felt like a million dollars!  He looked so much better too.  He had his bounce in his step, and he gave me a ton of kisses after it was over.  He was such a happy guy.  It felt good to me and worth all of the work.


Over last week, Arthur has become affectionate and very sweet.  He plays with Reuben nonstop.  I think he's become really attached to him.  He has to be near Roo at all times.  They love bitey-face games and will lay next to each other playing bitey-face for hours.


He's about 3-4 years old.  He's pretty chill, not bouncing off the walls like Roo.  He doesn't have a drive for balls or frisbees, but he's working on that.  He isn't potty trained, but he's working on it.  He just has trouble holding his bladder and I think maybe he has a UTI (also going to the vet for that).  I think once that's cleared up, he'll be fine!  It feels good to give him a chance to experience a home-life.  We just adore him! :)


Here are some more pics of him: