Send Good Thoughts/Prayers for Edward

Hi everyone!

If you're still following Edward's story, please send him some good thoughts and/or prayers. This morning I got this email from his poor dad:

Just wanted to send a quick update to let you know
that Edward had to undergo emergency surgery last
Wednesday. I noticed that Edward was unable to stand
up by himself or use his legs so I took him to the
animal hospital where he was admitted overnight.
After an MRI, they noticed he had a disc rupture,
where part of the spinal cord and appending cartiledge
breaks off and lodges itself into a different area of
the spinal cord, suppressing it and leaving him
paralyzed. He underwent surgery and he's home now,
although in a lot of pain =( He's slowly beginning to
walk again though his recoup will be about 2-3 weeks.

Just wanted to let you know that he's OK and will be
back to normal in a short time.

Edward's dad is a hero for giving him the surgery, and our family as well as Young At Heart is wishing Edward a speedy recovery. Poor, poor puppy!

We love you, sweet-eared Edward! Feel better, baby!

KP

Short and Oh So Sweet

How is the Pearl doing, you Pearl fans?

Well, from her mama's mouth:

*********

Hi Krissy - Pearl is doing great!! She is enjoying
eating the snow and hanging out with me.

*********

Pearl is now living the life that a happy dog lives, with a family who adores her and a mama she can lean on and trust. It's so amazing that after everything she's been through her standing can be summed up as simply "fine!" and have it be totally and completely true. It's boggling.

She's actually just fine.

Awwwwwwwwwwww.

THANK YOU PEARL'S AWESOME FAMILY!

The fact that she's fine and eating snow and just being a normal, happy dog makes me tear up. It's magical.

xoxoxoxo

KP

Pretty, Pretty Pearl!

Pearl's wonderful boys dressed her up as a ladybug for Halloween! Then her mom got a photo of the stunningly cute results. I've posted the photos so you can see her!

And what it takes to get a decent photo of a black dog who is deathly afraid of the camera cannot be described. Way to go, Pearl's family!

A PEARLY UPDATE!

We at the Poopyhands clan have gotten a new foster dog named Buddy. He arrived last night. When we get a new foster we let our adoptive parents know and invite them to update their dogs' Dogster site. Pearl's mom sent a lovely update about Pearl! It brought tears to my eyes.

Here is what she said:

Pearl has been in our home for 3 months now and I don't know if she truly understand how much we love her. I feel very blessed to have found her and I hope she is as happy as we are.

Pearl is a dream dog. It is so nice to wake up everyday and have my 2 sons giving her hugs and kisses and she gives them right back. My younger son loves it when we are playing and tickling and Pearl jumps right in and tackles him and gives him kisses on his belly and face and neck and feet....HAHA!! It is so cute. My older son adores Pearl. He feeds her and plays with her, takes her for walks and Pearl is his little pride and responsibility. Well honestly, I
take care of her the majority of the time, but when he wants to help out I praise him for what a good job.

I can't imagine what Pearl went through at the shelter..but I only hope that her future memories are with our family. We are so happy - thank you Young at Heart for making this experience truly loving for all of us and most of all for Pearl.

Pearl loves us so much as I truly think she knows our family is well connected, loving and caring and we just want to show her how much by giving her the best.

Pearl enjoys just being with us. She enjoys those rawhide bones (All natural and made in America bones), getting lots and lots of dog treats, she goes for
walks with us and actually doesn't mind when the boys dress her up in a wizard costume or put a pirate cape on her. She's a good sport. She is laying by my feet as I'm typing this and snoring away.

Thank you again for everything. Hope this updates her page and when I can get some pictures of her I will send them. I know the boys want to dress her up for Halloween!!

So Pearl, like our other five foster dogs, has gone on to the happiest home she could ever want. She's living in doggy heaven and her new family is like a balm to her soul.

She has a new perfect life. Not many dogs get that second go around. I'm incredibly grateful to Pearl's family for being that perfect life.

If you are interested in finding the perfect dog match for your family, watch this space or go and check out Buddy. Maybe he's what you've been looking for.

KP

Pearl Is HOME!

This past Sunday morning Pearl's Forever Mommy and her Forever Boys came to pick her up. The boys were so adorable they could have been a commercial and Pearl was blissed out to see them. She is apparently making herself at home and is being pampered and loved up as we speak.

Hooray Pearl!

Here is an update from Pearl's mom:

Hi Krissy

Pearl is home!! Everyone is happy. She is doing fantastic - eating, drinking, playing. You think she had lived her all her life. [Pearl's Dad] adores her - she was pampered at Petco with treats and attention.

She was hesitant to eat dinner so [Pearl's Dad] brought her dishes in and put them with us next to the table and she gobbled up her food. I wasn't sure if it was the dryer or she wanted to be with us.

Pearl is doing fantastic!!

Don't worry about the dog bed [KP- I forgot to send it with them]- you said that she didn't use it [KP -she didn't] so not a big deal. She has been laying
in the hallway - in between the family room and the kitchen.

Thanks again.

[Pearl's Mom]

Awwww. Good girl, Pearlie! We love you! Have a wonderful, long and happy life and love up those boys! Thanks so much to Pearl's new family. It's not everyone that will give an older dog a second chance at a happy life and Pearl went from death row to her personal version of heaven. Seeing happy endings like these over and over makes me believe more and more that there are far more nice people in the world than I had originally suspected.

You rock, Pearl's family!

Krissy Poopyhands

Um, Did You Want to Adopt Pearl?

Because you're too late!

That's right, life got crazy here at Chez Poopyhands and then I didn't update and then we got an application on Miss Pearl. Last night she met her new family and they all hit it off like the first time hot dogs met chili.

Pearl still doesn't like Bruno very much, but she still adores kids to no end. Her new little boys loved her up and she followed them around for an hour. Literally she went wherever they went. The older boy even got her to sit for him.

She is such a sweetie and, as with all our foster dogs, I'm getting all teary thinking about her being The Family Dog to this family who exists exactly as it is in a way that is just perfect for little Pearl. So often it's about making the people happy, but when the fit is right you also just see the dog come out of their shell. Pearl, like all our fosters, went through a hell of a time and nearly died and now she's going to go home with a lovely, sweet mom and two wonderful little boys, all of whom are so excited to have her in their lives.

Really, Pearl's adoptive family and Pearl herself are why we keep doing this. It's like something is WRONG and we just invest in a little time and energy, let the lovely adopters find us (and the nicest people ever find us), and something so wrong becomes something beautiful.

Hooray for Pearl! She goes home on Sunday.

Good girl, baby.

Love,

Fostermama

Posting for Pearl

Hi everybody!

This is Krissy, Pearl's foster mom. I usually try and tell the dog's story in the dog's "voice" so that you can easily get a sense of their personality. Unfortunately, Pearl is having some trouble settling in and is too nervous for her personality to really be clear yet.

This often happens with animals who's owners die. She's an older dog so she's not as flexible as she would have been as a puppy. She spent some time in a kennel thinking that she'd eventually go home and I think that it's just dawning on her that maybe she won't be going home. The poor dear isn't really too happy about that.

Right now she's doing a lot of pacing and sniffing, making sure that her food is still there and that we're not going anywhere. She's nervous about going into the back yard by herself. I think she was walked exclusively when she was at home.

It's hard to remember that even Max, who very quickly became just another member of the family, had a rough time at first. Pearl is not misbehaving by any means, she's just a bundle of worry at the moment, poor dear.

We will continue to love her up until she starts feeling a bit more at ease and as her personality comes out her voice should appear here as well.

Here is what I think I know about her so far:

Pearl is a very young 7-year-old. She is up for playing, particularly with kids. One of her favorite games is to follow my three year old through the house back and forth while he shrieks happily. She was also pleased to do some WDWF (World Dog Wresting Federation) with my husband. She's soft and very gentle. She will mouth your hands and wrists, but does so only in play and does not bite.

Pearl is a kid-friendly-pooch! She was a darling love to my 17-month-old nephew. She's got the temprement of a younger dog, so if you're looking for a couch potato she may not be for you, however she's all about the full family experience. Got kids? Even young ones? You won't have any trouble with Pearl.

Pearl is a food hound. She will put her sweet little head on the couch or the chair and say "Please oh PLEASE you know you want to give me some food". If my kid isn't careful Pearl will gently relieve him of any food he happens to not watching too closely. At the same time, like Max, dogs that are food-driven are also responsive to treats during training. When they will do anything for food, that includes behave themselves, which is always a plus!

Pearl could totally HAVE THAT CAT. She is behaving, for the moment, with Jack the Cat. She's chased him once or twice, but Jack is a perfect dog-friendly cat and knows that the best way to avoid being chased by a dog is not to run. However, whenever he's in the room Pearl stands at attention with every cell in her body focused toward Jack. She likes to follow him around with her nose buried in his fur. I believe that if Jack were a typical cat, Pearl would be all over happily running him down and maybe gnawing a teensy bit on his ears. I'd recommend a home without cats unless you have a very dog friendly one like Jack.

?Pearl and other dogs? - the Jury is still out on this one. She and her foster brother, Bruno, have not been getting along entirely. They have had a couple of minor skirmishes which is very unusual for Bruno. Generally he's a dog's dog. I think perhaps that Pearl is just too nervous right now for the two dogs to be relaxed around one another. Pearl is jealous of Bruno if he's having a treat or getting lovies. The trick is that this could be a personality trait, or what is more likely is that Pearl is just feeling totally lost and abandoned and knows that we are responsible for making sure she's taken care of. She's probably feeling very vulnerable and freaked out and worried that she'll be thrown out in the cold.

While it's possible that she just doesn't like bigger dogs, or male dogs, it's just as possible that she's so nervous right now that Bruno feels like a threat, and that her reactions to him will calm down when she does. She did fine with other dogs in the rescue and also at a rescue event with other dogs coming up and sniffing her. It's too early to call for sure one way or another. I'll keep you posted.

Stuff I love about Pearl:

She has an awesome head. She's heavier than she looks and is great to cuddle. She has incredibly soft poodle fur that's kind of curly and kinky and so nice to snuggle with. She licks, but not much, so you get kisses but don't wind up soaking. She is fully potty trained. She listens when you reprimand her and when you call her. She has great floppy ears. Someone is going to wind up with the sweetest dog ever when they adopt her.

Generally she's adorable and we are, as usual, totally in love. I'm hoping she starts to feel more comfortable with us soon.

Watch here for more updates!

Krissy

The Black Pearl is Coming!

Hello, everyone!

My name is Krissy and I'm a foster parent for Young At Heart Pet Rescue. YAH rescues "older" dogs (3 and older) from pounds and shelters and fosters them in private homes where they get full care and lovings until they find their forever families.

Recently, our foster dog, Candie went to her new and forever family. We miss Candie very much and hope that she does well, meanwhile the Poopyhands household is one foster dog short.

This means that this upcoming weekend we will be taking in Pearl, who has been waiting on death row for someone to save her. All we know about Pearl is that she's reportedly a seven-year-old cockapoo mix who is as sweet as they come.

Once she's in ours I'll let her post here at the page and tell you all about herself. I'll also be popping in from time-to-time to update her likes and dislikes, as well as her good and bad habits and personal puppy quirks, so you'll know if this sweet upper-middle-aged cocker spaniel is just the footwarmer your house has been waiting for.

Stay tuned for more information when Pearl comes home!

Krissy, the Fostermama