Journal
November 2000
November 8, 2000
"wonder what is going on with ranger's person? what if they want you to take him again?"
Well, then i guess i'll take him again. =) I'll do whatever i have to do. Maybe i could get him a muzzle for when he's loose with the other animals, and the rest of the time he would be crated. But i hope i don't have to do anything at all. I hope they get it figured out. I'm glad that R is involved now so it's kinda off my shoulders. It could be that the lady just changed her mind for whatever reason, and then she started getting annoyed that we kept calling. I wonder if the humane society did a follow-up call. They are supposed to be doing that now, i think, for every adoption.
November 9, 2000
Turns out her boyfriend erases her phone messages before she gets them. This was one of my ideas too, but i didn't think he would erase FOUR messages before she got them -- especially since we called at all different times. I called once in the evening while he was at work and once on the weekend, and Ruth called twice during the day. She's trying to tell me that she never got any of those messages. But on the phone just now, she told me she didn't want to meet at the park, since Ranger is so dog aggressive now. But i'm almost positive that the only time i mentioned meeting at the park was in the first message that i left for her. So if she REALLY never got that message... well... how would she know i wanted to meet at the park? And she said something about how i mentioned that i really wanted to see Ranger. I only said that in the second message i left.
Anyway, at this point it's all funky and i really don't even want to meet her anymore. But i kinda have to now. I told her to call me sometime and she said she'll probably call next Sat and we can get together next Sun. But not at the park. So it's probably gonna be really dumb. I was picturing walking our respective dogs on trails at the park. Now we probably shouldn't even take ours, if he really is that aggressive now. He pulls on leash and he lunges at other dogs. She said she can barely hold him, and even her boyfriend has trouble.
She said something about taking classes from somebody at the shelter but that she probably couldn't start until January and she wants to get him under control before that. So R might help her. R is a trainer but apparently she does more obedience-type stuff and not much behavior modification type stuff. I would offer to help her but i'm really not qualified. I'm one of those people who knows just enough to be dangerous.
One good thing about meeting them is that i could show them the Gentle Leader and maybe the prong collar. The prong might not be a great choice cos it may not be the best idea for dog-aggressive dogs. They see a dog, they lunge, it hurts, and they just get madder. But the GL should help. I'm just worried she'll say they can't afford it (it's under $20). You know me, i'll probably end up giving them one. I'm stupid like that sometimes.
Guess i better spend some time this week reading up on dog-aggressive dogs. I think it is truly pathetic if the shelter really can't help her until January. If they are concerned about keeping adopted dogs in their new homes, they really need to get on top of things like this. Here is a woman who is actually willing to work on a behavior problem instead of dumping the dog, but there's nobody to help her. I'll have to figure out the scoop on that one.November 17, 2000
How would you like to have an extra doggy around for Thanksgiving? His name is Bingo. He's kinda spaniel-y. They have bassett/lab on the website. He's a year old, neutered, housetrained, not too big, good w/children, and very loveable. He was originally adopted from the shelter but his people are "moving." She was reading me some of the stuff they wrote on the turn-in sheet. Did he have any behavior problems and what did you do? Answer: Yes, yelled at him. Did you ask us for help with behavior problems? Answer: No.
She said i could think about it and let her know on Monday, but i said i might as well commit to it now cos it would be easier to pick him up tomorrow. I told her to make sure he has his rabies shot and his microchip, and i mentioned that we have tried to pick up dogs before and they weren't ready for us. So hopefully they'll take care of it before tomorrow. I'll call the kennels before we go tomorrow just to make sure.
I didn't consult Warren but i think he'll be okay with it.
(later...) Some people are looking at the dog right now. If they don't adopt him, somebody is doing an adopt-a thon at a Giant Eagle this weekend and they are going to take him along for that. So, no new dog this weekend.
(still later...) Those people didn't adopt him, and somehow he got crossed off the list for Giant Eagle. So... i guess we're getting him tomorrow. Maybe. Unless she calls again.
November 18, 2000
We took all three dogs to the park. We could just tell that he wouldn't run away, so we let him off leash. He was fine. He doesn't actually come when called but i think he just doesn't know his name. There was only one other dog at the park when we got there but eventually lots of people and dogs came. They were all dark colored, medium sized dogs, so it was really hard to keep track of where ours were, especially since we had to watch three this time. They were all very good. Bingo started walking off with other people a couple times but he did very well for a dog that had only known us for a couple hours!
There were some clueless people there who thought it was a good idea to take the leash off their dog outside the gate, and then open the gate and try to get the dog to go through while they stood outside. Of course several other people's dogs escaped through the open gate, but they all came back. Brin went around the end of the fence but he came back in when somebody opened the gate for him. I wasn't too worried. I figured he'd come back eventually. He seems to understand now. Plus, i had turkey and rice baby food.
Eventually our faces were frozen so we left. I bathed three dogs. They were all very good. Bingo couldn't jump in the tub so i had to lift him. Wow! He weighs 55 pounds. I think he'll be going on a diet. Anyway, now he is shiny and smells nice. He is snoozing on the floor behind me. He seems like a very well-adjusted dog.
November 19, 2000

"congratulations on getting all three dogs to sit and look at the camera for that last picture. maybe you should be a pet photographer."
Yeah, but did you see the look on Brin's face? He hates foster dogs. Poor little neglected Brin.
November 20, 2000
November 21, 2000
"bingo sounds like a good dog."
He is. He's no trouble at all. He settled into the routine right away. Just now when i got home, i let everybody outside and looked around and realized that all three were pooping at the same time. Talk about "regular!" They are on a schedule.
Right now he's snarfling on the futon. He's the easiest foster yet. He still thinks he's allowed on the bed, and he jumps all over me when i get home. Other than that, it's like he's not even here. But somehow i suspect we'll have him for a long time. He's the sort of dog that people wouldn't appreciate from just looking at his picture. It's his temperament that makes him stand out. Physically, he's sort of nondescript. When we were at the park, i had trouble telling which one he was. Good thing he has that bright red collar.
November 28, 2000
(later...) S just called and she wants to wait until Saturday at noon, so i told her we should meet at Frick Park instead. I told her how to get there so hopefully she will go to the right place. It sounded like she is used to going to a different part of the park. She said she'll give me a call on Saturday morning.
November 29, 2000
"what's up? got any more dogs?"
No, i think three's enough. Did i tell you somebody's gonna meet Bingo on Saturday? She has four kids so i thought we should do it at the dog park instead of here! Hopefully the weather will be decent. If not, maybe we'll just have to meet at the shelter. It's a pain to go all the way up there. But in a way it would be convenient if she ends up adopting him cos we wouldn't have to make another trip. We'll see.