Meet Little (Austin, Texas)

Little is about a year old. He's spent his whole life in a back yard*, so he's a little emotionally stunted.
I call him Little because he was surrendered, basically, for being too big.
Geddit?
Becoming homeless was the best thing Little has ever done, because being homed previously really sucked for him.

He is sweet and delicate and wants so badly to be best friends with a person, but he needs a lot of gentle training, because "being a loved pet" is completely new to him.
He's lived in a yard with lots of other little dogs before, but I suspect living indoors with other pets will be a challenge for him, since he's new to this whole ready-supply-of-resources thing. He WILL guard his new owner from other animals, maybe people, if given the chance.

I'm fostering Little in Austin, Texas. He's existing under the care of Animal Trustees of Austin and his adoption fee is $75, though I encourage you to make a larger donation to ATA, since they take a loss on pretty much everything they do to keep the way over-saturated animal community in Austin alive and out of pain.

If you're interested in adopting him, e-mail me. We have other cool little foster dogs, too.



*If you have never had a former back yard dog before, please read Ian Dunbar's Before You Get Your Puppy and After You Get Your Puppy.

Mugsy McGuinness-Frayman

Congratulations to Mugsy's new mom & dad, Mr. & Mrs. Frayman!

And congratulations, Mugsy! This adoption wouldn't have been possible without his stellar attitude and willingness to trust the people around him. He's an excellent little dog who has finally found his excellent and long-deserved forever-home. It's hard to see him go, but I'm confident that he will flourish in his new home.

I hope that Mr. & Mrs. Frayman will share plenty of photos and join us Sunday, October 5th for the WHS/HSUS Walk for the Animals.

Thanks to everyone who came to meet Mugsy. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of sweet dogs in need of loving forever-homes here in Washington, DC and I hope you'll make adoption your only option as you search for the dog love of your life.

Hooray for the WHS foster program!

Joyfully,
Eve

Mugsy could go home as early as...

TODAY!

Everyone who applied to adopt Mugsy will get a call from me tomorrow.

In the mean time, enjoy these photos of Mugsy modelling a WHS Humane Law Enforcement t-shirt that I made.

Mugsy is the second most important food group.

Mugy's good friend Jenn made this cute little GIF image of her, apparently, chewing on his head. (He didn't mind.)
Thanks, Jenn!



Come meet Mugsy tomorrow, Saturday, August 23rd, at WHS's Georgia Avenue shelter at 7319 Georgia Avenue NW (walk there from the Takoma Metro station!).

Meet Mugsy & Peppy at Georgia Avenue this Saturday!

click graphic to enlarge

Napping is the most important food group.

Why is everyone afraid of adopting adult dogs?

Are they worried that maybe the dog's heart already belongs to another?
Are they afraid he'll come with lousy behavior that's too ingrained to alter?
I suspect it's simply their fear falling in love with in a dog only to have their hearts broken in case he doesn't live for another decade.
And who can blame anyone for that? I'm not anymore into having my heart broken than anyone else. I cling to my dog and cat every day and demand another 15 years out of each of them.

But say I adopt a 15-year-old dog from the Washington Humane Society. And he dies two years later.
Of course I would devastated, of course I would be heartbroken, of course, of course, of course.
But animals die.
It's all we know that we can expect of them for certain.
And it's awful.
It's a horrific, evil joke that you can have such an intense and important relationship with a creature only designed to live for a dozen years or so.
But our imaginary 15-year-old dog who dies two years later... An unlikely adoptee, probably with a pretty unfortunate background story, maybe he spent his entire life chained up in someone's back yard. Or in a puppy mill. Or being locked in the basement because no one ever cared enough to house train him and it was too much trouble to put some work into him so that he could join the family upstairs. He's never known love from a person. And later in life, when he was too much trouble to clean up after, or the neighbors complained too often that he wasn't being cared for, he was sent to spend his final days at an animal shelter, confused, afraid and, worst of all, still lonely.

Was he less deserving of a home? Did he deserve to be afraid in the back yard or lonely in the basement or angry at the end of a chain for most of his life? Did he deserve to be neglected and ignored?
The most important question, I think, is this: Is a shorter period of unconditional love from a dog, who's run out of second chances, not enough to justify the work of adoption? Or is unconditional love from a dog, who's run out of second chances, good enough in any duration?
Two years, ten years, twenty years, you will be heartbroken at the end of your time together. There is no question about that. It's never a surprise to be sad when you lose a close friend. And later, when the time is right for you and you've picked your heart up off the floor, you can come back to the shelter, where despite the best efforts of every animal welfare organization in the world, there is unlikely to be a shortage of adoptable dogs any time soon.


And speaking of adoptable dogs in need...

click the graphic to enlarge

We've gotten a fantastic response to Mugsy's availability via this blog and it looks like he should soon be in his forever home. For anyone who would like to apply to adopt Mugsy, you can meet him this Saturday at the Georgia Avenue animal shelter located at 7319 Georgia Avenue NW.
He will hang out at the shelter for the day and you can apply to adopt him the same way you would apply on any other dog. The smart people working at the shelter will be able to help you with the process.

Since I've heard from so many nice people who are on the lookout for a cool little dog, Mugsy & I would like to introduce you to our friend Peppy. Peppy could really use your help.

Peppy's had a rough go of things recently.
He was surrendered to our New York Avenue shelter in pretty shabby condition in mid July. He was so matted that he wasn't able to defecate anymore. Matts were holding feces to his body and he had a superficial infection as a result.His claws were severely overgrown and his dewclaws were so overgrown that they had curled 360 degrees, puncturing their corresponding pads. Peppy's poor condition was brought to the attention of WHS's humane law enforcement division and his care was transferred to the Georgia Avenue shelter.

So a couple of days in the hospital, and Peppy was good as new! But still pretty stinky & dirty.
The good people over at Doggie Style on 18th Street were kind enough to groom him for us so that we could see what a handsome little man was lying under all of that dirt and hair.

So why is this charming little man in need of a safe place to call home STILL sitting in the shelter?
That's simple: He's too much of a survivor. At about 10 years old, he's off the radar of most of our adopters.

In shelters, senior dogs wait the longest for a family to love. Most of them are just never lucky enough to find a family willing to take on an experienced animal.


When I returned to my office this evening, my co-worker, Officer Gardner, was on the phone, her nose buried in a case as it always is, and Peppy ran to the door of the office to greet me. Officer Gardner felt bad for Peppy, sitting in the shelter after hours, watching the shelter staff clean cages, he just looked like he wasn't ready for bed. He wagged his tail and waited for someone to stop by and say hello. So Officer Gardner grabbed him and brought him up to our office where he was thrilled to stretch out on the carpet and chew on a toy.

He's so charming! His silly face and joyful demeanor combine to create this precious little Muppet who just wants some love. And he's a tiny guy. At about 18 pounds, he could stand to lose a couple of pounds (sorry, Peppy).

While you continue your search for that perfect small dog, think of Peppy. Tell your friends and tell them to tell their friends.
While he might not be a puppy, he's got years of training at being an inside pet and comes with lap experience. House training not required.



By the way, the Internet tells me that Shih Tzus usually live 15-18 years, though I know I've met many at the high end of that average. While working at an animal hospital a few years ago, I met a 20-year-old Shih Tzu named Tonka, who would have been easy to mistake for 10 or 12, though she'd been coming to the same hospital since she was a puppy!



Eve

Mugsy really, really dislikes the chicken hat.

Sorry, Mugs. Everyone has to try it on. At least once.

Mugsy makes some new friends.

Matt, Mugsy & Jenn.

It's been a big day for a small dog.

I picked Mugsy up this morning. He was neutered yesterday, but seemed completely normal when he got home. Not tired, or bummed out, or cranky. Just himself, nice & happy.


Mugs & Hank played for a while.
And then we had some pizza.
And then some of us fell asleep.

DEVELOPING: Tiny Dog Enjoys Playing with Human on Couch

Sorry about the choppy video quality. We'll make something better soon.
That's my husband playing guitar in the background, by the way.
Mugsy wasn't sure what to make of the guitar at first.

ROAD TRIP!!!

Well.
Sort of.
Just across the river, really.

Today was spay/neuter day.

I transported Mugsy & 13 other animals for DC Animal Control to the clinic this morning.

We didn't make it 10 blocks from the shelter when a handsome black and white cat came through the window that separates the front of the van from the back. He had managed to break himself out of his cardboard carrier and weasel his way up to the window.
He and Mugsy hung out for the remainder of the hour-long drive. They acted like they'd known each other forever, and eventually fell asleep (DC morning rush hour traffic will do that to you), Mugsy in the passenger's seat, the kitty on the console.


Eve

Tiny Humane Law Enforcement Officer Mugsy McGuinness

Mugsy came to work with me today.
He helped me with some paperwork. He helped take some calls at the front desk. He even went on a ride along in an HLE van (even though it was just to ride home at the end of the day).

Overall, Mugs is really showing himself to be an awfully nice little man.

And he exhibits a natural talent for law enforcement.
And by "exhibits a natural talent for law enforcement" I mean "naps on car rides." Obviously.


Eve

Everything is too big.

When you're 8 pounds.


Mugsy may need some new sweaters when he's adopted. All of Hank's clothes are too big for him.

And our favorite little hairless wonder has mastered all of the stairs to my apartment. The first couple of days he bulked at even the few steps up to the porch, now he can thunder up and down the flight of wooden stairs inside of the building.

And still no accidents in the house. We watch him like a hawk, but I remain impressed.
Good dog, Mugs. Good dog.


Eve