Not Quite Smarty Sunday!

Hi everyone! Smarty Sunday is being postponed this week because Mama is busy working on a giant project for student teaching! She has to write a book! The book has to be all about activities that people can do with their little human kids to help them do better in preschool. She was typing typing typing all night long and didn't give Sammy-Joe any time to write his Smarty Sunday post!


Luckily, we do have something cool to show you. Mama took these pictures this morning. Want to see?

Can you tell what it is? Here, look closer!

They are little foot prints! 

They look kind of like Lily footprints. But they were made in the fresh snow, before us dogs got a chance to go outside in the morning. We had a secret visitor! 

It looks like the visitor walked in a big circle...

And then he (or she) tiptoed along this ledge...

And maybe the visitor slipped on the ice! 

What kind of visitor do you think we had? A dog? A cat? A raccoon? Maybe we should set up a hidden video camera so we can see them! 

We just wanted to show you that because we thought it was kind of mysterious. And now, we have to give the computer back to Mama so she can work some more on her book. We hope all of our friends are doing good!

Wordless Wednesday: Super Size Milkbone!

Rescue Pepe!

Hi everyone! Do you remember way back during Mayzie's Rescue Me Week when we wrote about the hoarder lady who used to work at a pet store and who had 50 dogs in her house? Almost Home Foundation found homes for most of those dogs, but there are still a few left. One of them is Pepe, an eleven pound chihuahua/terrier mix who is very sweet but can be very nervous around new people.

Pepe is another one of those chihuahuas who just doesn't trust people. This has been aggravated by the fact that he was raised by a hoarder, and did not get a lot of human contact. When he sees a hand coming towards him, he doesn't know what that hand is going to do to him, so he sometimes growls or tries to bite! But never after he's gotten to know and love a person. For instance, he knows and loves his foster parents, He will cuddle on their laps, play with them, and be a wild little guy around them! He loves to play fetch, and peek-a-boo. He is great at learning new tricks, and is very interested in getting some agility training if his new family would be willing to work with him! He is also usually fine with dogs who are his size and smaller, although he is afraid of larger dogs. 


One thing our Mama said she noticed, when volunteering at Almost Home Foundation's adoption days, is that many people who want to meet a small dog will walk up, and lean over the dog. This makes many smaller dogs, including Pepe, frightened! It can be frightening or intimidating to larger dogs as well. We thought we'd share a few tips for people who might be interested in meeting Pepe, or any other new dogs. 


Remember to always ask whoever is handling or walking the dog if it is okay to pet him. If it is okay, curl your fingers into a fist, and offer your fist to the dog to sniff. Don't shove your fist in the dog's face, but hold it far enough away so the dog can be the one to move his face over to you for a sniff. If he keeps on sniffing and seems happy, or if he pushes his head under your hand to ask you to pet him, you can! 

When you meet smaller dogs, if possible, it is a great idea to sit on the floor instead of standing over them. If you cannot sit down on the floor, ask the handler if they could pick the dog up so that the dog is at your level. Sitting or crouching on the floor can be the best way, though! If the dog seems nervous, it can help to avoid eye contact. With Pepe, our Mama has noticed that whenever she is sitting on the floor and talking to a human or playing with another dog, Pepe will walk up and put his paws on her or even climb into her lap! This may be because a person who is sitting down low, and who is not looking at him, can be the least intimidating person to a nervous dog. Once the dog has gotten a good sniff of you, he'll probably be more willing to be petted! Pepe is not as nervous as, say, Bermuda, and he will almost always become friendly within a minute or two of being petted.

Here are some things not to do when meeting a dog, especially a nervous dog. Do NOT lean or bend over the dog. Do NOT put your face right up to the dog's face unless you don't mind getting bitten in the nose. (Of course once the dog is yours, it may feel natural to put your face close to his and give him kisses, and once he knows you well he probably won't mind! But don't do it to a strange dog!) Do NOT run up to a dog or approach him in a quick, startling way. Do NOT walk up to a dog you don't know and start petting him, without giving him a minute to get to know you! (This may have worked out fine for you with a few dogs in the past, but you don't ever know which dog is going to be the nervous one who will think you're trying to hurt him!) And NEVER pick up a smaller dog that you don't know. Ask first. Some dogs will let anyone pick them up. Other dogs will be frightened by this gesture. 


Finally, the quickest short cut to a nervous dog's heart? Treats! Many nervous dogs will get over their stranger anxiety if you have something delicious to share with them!


If you live in the Chicago area and feel like you'd enjoy having Pepe in your family, please email plutollf@aol.com  for more info. We know you're going to love him! 

Smarty Sunday: Winter Safety For Pets

Hi, everyone! Its me, Sammy-Joe, here with another super smart episode of Smarty Sunday! I can't believe its been a week already!
The other day it snowed here in Chicago, where we live. It may have snowed where you live to! Do you pets know how to keep yourselves safe during the winter? I thought I'd talk about this today, now that it is officially winter! Let me share them with you.


1. Dogs and cats...  You may love to play outside in the snow! But watch the weather, and trust your humans to use their best judgement about how long you should stay out. If it is so cold that your human doesn't want to stay out for very long, then you probably shouldn't stay out very long either. I know sometimes we don't notice the cold until it is too late! If it is below freezing, especially, just go outside long enough to do your potty business and then hurry back in. Some pets might like to wear coats to help keep them warm. But if you do wear a coat, ask your human to supervise you just in case you get caught on something! 


2. Your humans have probably heard that they should not leave you alone in a hot car in the summer. But do they know that the same goes for a cold car in winter? The car can act as a refrigerator, making it even colder inside there than it is outside. If you are left alone, you could get hypothermia. Please make sure your parents know this! 


3. If you do go outside on a snowy day, make sure you are wearing your collar with your ID tag at all times. If you go for a walk, ask your parents to keep you on your leash. Why? The snow can mess up the scents that we are used to. If we wander off and get lost, we might not be able to find our way back home using our trusty noses. If we are wearing our collars with ID tags, we have a better chance of getting a helpful human to take us home.


4. Cats... if you are allowed to roam free outdoors, do not climb into the hood of a car to stay warm. It is a bad idea! The human may not know you are there, and if he starts the car, you could be seriously injured or even killed. If you, or other cats in your neighborhood, do roam free, ask your humans to bang on the hood of their car before they start it up in the morning. This will scare away any cats that might be curled up underneath. 


5. When you come in from playing outside, do not lick your fur until your parents have dried you off! I know you probably have snow and ice on your fur and you want to clean yourself off. But the snow and ice could have salt, antifreeze, and other chemicals in it, and that could make you sick! So tell your humans to dry you off  with a towel as soon as you come in. Don't try to do the job yourself with your tongue. Have them dry your feet off well, too.


6. What if you do get lost, or sneak out, and end up being outside in the cold longer than your parents wanted you to be? You should know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite, and share them with your parents. If you can't stop shivering even after you get in, if your fur looks all puffed up or is standing on end, and if you seem disoriented or lethargic, you could have hypothermia. If your skin turns bright red, pale, or black, you could have frostbite. If either of these things happen, your parents need to get you to the vet! 


7. Remember, antifreeze is poison! If you see something blue on your driveway, do not lick it! In fact, tell your humans to clean up any antifreeze spills right away, just in case you forget that its poison. 


8. Do your humans use a space heater in areas of the house that are cold? Remind them that you need to be supervised whenever the space heater is on. They shouldn't leave it running when they are not in the room. You might chew the cord, or knock it over while you are running around playing, or jump on top of it if you are a cat. I know none of you would do any of these things because you are perfect angels. But still. Also, even just rubbing against the space heater could be dangerous, if the heater is too hot. Be careful with those things!


9. If you live near a body of water, be careful. You might notice that the water turns to ice, and you might feel like you can walk across it. But the ice could break, and you could fall into the cold, cold, cold water! This has happened to other dogs and cats before. So please stay away from bodies of water unless your parents are absolutely sure that the ice is thick enough for ice skating. To be sure, please remind your parents again to supervise you when you are outside, and keep you on a leash during walks. 


Maybe I made it seem like winter is terribly dangerous for pets! But winter can still be a lot of fun. Just be careful, and make sure you stay warm enough and are supervised, and you'll have an awesome winter!

Thanks for reading Smarty Sunday, everyone! I hope you feel smarter! 

Mama Keeps Leaving!

Hi everyone! We've actually been doing pretty good at our promise to write at least two posts a week... but those posts are usually Smarty Sunday, Rescue Me day, and Wordless Wednesday! The reason for this is kinda good news and kinda bad news.
The good news is... Mama started student teaching! She will be student teaching for five weeks at a preschool program for at-risk kids, and then for ten weeks at another school. She really loves it! She thinks the kids are so little and cute, and the days go by really fast for her. That is also why it is hard for us to keep up with posts... by the time she gets home, Mama is too exhausted to type!
The bad news is... Mama started student teaching! Yeah, we know we said that was good news. It is good news for Mama, but bad news for us! We miss when she used to stay home with us for most of the day! She used to snuggle in bed with us until almost lunch time,  take us out several times a day to play, share breakfast and lunch with us, and talk to us all day. Sometimes she would go to school or work for a few hours, and then come home. 
Now she has to be gone seven hours a day! She gets up early, takes a shower, takes us out to play, shares her breakfast with us, and then leaves. We are always so sad when she leaves. 
Here is a picture of the doggies among us, missing Mama.

Mama says she misses us too when she's gone. She says she thinks about us all day. She says! But who does she share her lunch with now, we'd like to know?

Wordless Wednesday: Catnip Bubbles!

Rescue Gypsy Rose!

Hi everyone! We're still keeping good on our promise to write about an Almost Home Foundation dog who needs a home each week! We don't know if you remember Bermuda, who we wrote about during Mayzie's Rescue Me Week. Bermuda, by the way, is still waiting for a home, and is the only dog we've written about for Rescue Me posts who hasn't been adopted yet. So if you live in the Chicago area and consider yourself a chihuahua whisperer, please contact her foster dad by emailing him at c22036@email.mot.com, or calling him at 224-715-2526.
But today we wanted to tell you about another dog, who happens to be Bermuda's foster sister! Her name is Gypsy Rose, and she is a very unique looking little rat terrier mix. Her black head, on her scruffy white body, causes some people to comment that she looks like someone put her together with spare parts! Gypsy Rose was rescued from a kill shelter in Chicago, where she was in line to be euthanized. Thank goodness Almost Home Foundation got her before that could happen. It would have been a real waste of a very sweet three year old dog! 
Some people think Gypsy doesn't get along with other dogs. However, she really does get along with most other dogs! When big dogs walk up to her she sometimes gets intimidated and barks at them. She also barks a lot while playing. But she does enjoy other dogs much of the time. She lives with three other dogs (including Bermuda) and she has regular playdates with as many as seven dogs at a time! 
The other day while Mama was volunteering, she wandered over to where Gypsy Rose was. While Mama was sitting on the floor talking to another volunteer, Gypsy ran up to her and jumped into her lap! Gypsy licked her face, then ran and got her little stuffed toy and brought it to Mama to throw for her! Other volunteers mentioned that Gypsy was one of their favorite dogs ever because of her playful and affectionate nature. Gypsy loves kids, too! She's also crate trained and house trained. 

Gypsy wants you to know that if you meet her at the adoption show, and she's barking a lot at other dogs, she is probably just excited! Dogs never have their best behavior at the adoption show. It really brings out the worst in them! But even if you meet her at the show, she'll lick your face and want to play with you, and you'll see what an awesome doggie she is. Ask a volunteer to walk her to a quieter area of the store, so you can spend some special time just with her when she's not so overwhelmed by the crowds!
Gypsy Rose lives with Bermuda, so you can contact her foster dad with the same contact info above. He'd love to hear from you about either one of the dogs! Remember... Gypsy Rose is looking for just about any person or family who could open up their hearts to a great, playful dog. Bermuda is looking for a patient person who understands chihuahua issues, and is willing to take the time to earn her trust. (That could take anywhere from twenty minutes to a day, if you have time to spend just with her, with no other dogs and few humans around... and some doggie treats would really speed up the process!) 
Both Gypsy and Bermuda are anxiously waiting for their forever homes! We hope you find them soon!