ADOPTED!

Today Samson went home with a lovely family who is going to treat him like their sweet baby for the rest of his life. They are fantastic, and while we will miss him, he is incredibly lucky and the family is beyond wonderful.

Congratulations, Sam on your forever home! We love you!

Silly Sammy

Well, I'm sorry for the long lag in update, Peeps, but I'm working full time and going to school and the time just got away from me! I also haven't written because when you have an adorable dog at home who fits right in, you have a tendancy to forget that you're actually trying to find him a home. Ohhh yeahhh. Ahem.

Anyhow, Samson is doing just peachy-keen, thanks so much for asking! He enjoys spending the day nearby wherever we happen to be, watching whatever we happen to do. When we rest he takes the opportunity to try and climb into our laps and will give us welcoming kisses whenever possible.

He has finally reached a level where he's comfortable, so when he lays down he splays his short wee back legs out to either side. This is, as I'm sure you can imagine, hysterical. His front half looks normal, his back half is doing the splits! His wee little feets!

He takes his house-guarding duties very seriously and will bark when a stranger (or we) come into the house. He likes to announce to the world that the HOUSE STATUS HAS CHANGED. WHOOP WHOOP HOUSE STATUS HAS CHANGED. He will also get barky in that little dog way when my son and his foster-dog brother are tearing through the house. It's great. It just adds to the joyous melee.

I AM TELLING YOU YOU ARE RUNNING AND YOU MIGHT GET IN TROUBLE DON'T RUN INTO THAT CHAIR WOW YOU GUYS ARE GOING FAST, etc.

He's like that annoying little brother who can't keep up but shouts endless support from the sidelines.

Luckily there is no barking in the middle of the night, or after our boy has gone to bed. Mostly he just hangs.

If you're reading this and thinking "Is Samson the right dog for me?" what you need to be thinking of is whether you are interested in a people dog or a dog's dog.

Samson enjoys spending some time wrestling with Bruno, our husky, and seems to enjoy his presence more often than not. However, Bruno is a dog's dog. He loves dogs. If you could hear what's going on in Bruno's head it would consist mostly of "DURF DURF DURF LET'S PLAY IMA DOG". Goofy, is that Bruno.

Samson has a more fine-tuned mind. Like many small dogs, he does some thinking. He's figured out that the People are the ones who despense walks and food and treats and are generally the desirables. To dogs like Sammy (and he quite reminds me of Max) the people are where it's at. Bruno can be fun, but Sammy wants YOU!

So, if you're looking for a durf durf dog, like a lab, that is interested in neverending gamboling and playing, Sammy probably won't float your boat. If you're looking for a small animal to sit on your lap and look at you with deep, soulful eyes and seem to say, "My yes. What a day you had, mom. Tell me some more about it!" Sammy is your guy.

Fill out an application today!

Not This Time

Alas, Peeps, the lovely lady who came to look at Samson thought he was a great dog, but really is looking for something a little bit bigger. She's looking for something a little more sizable for a sense of safety and such when walking at night.

So, Samson remains the perfect dog, but is a little weensy for some.

It happens, and the lady was very smart and kind to let us know instead of waffling on it. There is nothing wrong with knowing that a dog just isn't a great fit. Not that they aren't wonderful or that you wouldn't love that dog, but really it's just not a great fit. She was very responsible and lovely about it.

Of course, what that means is, MOAR SAMSON FOR US! WOO HOO!

And what it means for you is yet another chance to be his forever family. Lucky you!

Are you his perfect home? Why not fill out an application today and find out?

KP

Happiness Just Around the Bend?

Tonight, Peeps, Samson meets his possible forever mom for the first time.

I'm thinking that it's likely to go well. She seems like a great human being and I know that Samson is a great dog, so I'm thinking they will hit it off like gangbusters! If they do, he will go to his forever home on Saturday. Of course, if they don't, Sammy will just come back to us and we'll keep looking. He can always come home to us.

When Young At Heart Pet Rescue takes in an older dog, that dog is forever and ever done with the pound. They are forever and ever done being abandoned in the world. No matter what happens, these pups are with someone who cares about them, no matter what.

This frees us up to be very easygoing when it comes to finding homes for the dogs that come through. We aren't a mill where we'll give the dog to anyone who pays, and we're not going to lie to a family about the kind of dog they are getting.

We are interested in making whole families happy, not just the dogs. This view benefits not only the dogs, but the people who adopt. The families who have adopted our dogs are giving them lives that they could only dream of. I can't believe the high caliber of person I have encountered through these adoptions. All of our adopters are phenomenal people.

So far our family has helped seven families meet, love and live lives happy with one another. Fingers crossed that this weekend makes it eight!

***

As a side-note, I have to tell you that watching the damage that is done from the pound is always horrible, but it's worse in smart dogs. Samson is a very smart little guy and he is pretty upset about what happened to him. He's not sure that we're not going to take him back to the pound, and that's hard to see.

There is no better reassurance than love and hugs and treats and walks and, most importantly, trips that always involve returning home.

I'm very, very glad that Samson is on the cusp of his forever home because he's such a sweet little dog and deserves the time to heal. He's so watchful and afraid, always wondering if we are leaving him, or if he is going to have to leave us. The last step of adoption is going to be another loss for him, but it's also going to be the first step to really being okay. The first step to heart-healing.

He found his smile only after being with us for two full days. I hope he finds it again soon with his mommy and never has to let it go.

*******

I will give you an update on the kind of life that Sammy will be living if he finds his home and, if his mommy is willing, I'll keep you updated periodically on how he's doing.

KP

Line Forms to the Left!

Well, Peeps, we officially have parties interested in the pup, which for us is kind of sad because he just got here and we love him, but for him is AWESOME.

Sammy is a wonderful dog and deserves a fantabulous forever home where he knows that the hand he licks is the hand he'll be licking from now until forever.

If you've been debating, I'd get your application in now in case the folks he meets don't find him perfect. At the same time, everyone is going to find him perfect, because he totally is.

What a gooooooood dog!

Samson Finds His Bark! And the Dog Park!

Yesterday Samson felt comfortable enough to rediscover his bark. Its appearance is still rare, but he'll bark to let us know he wants to go outside, and when the next-door dog barks he'll bark right back.

We've had him on a very inexpensive minor painkiller for his slightly stiff legs, and he's been feeling much better. TT took him to the dog park yesterday and apparently there was MUCH WONDERFUL ROMPING!

He got along great with the other dogs there and is generally a pretty smiley guy these days.

Still wonderful. TT really adores him, and that's saying something because TT usually tries to maintain a professional distance from our fosters. He knows they are moving on and so tries not to get too deeply attached. Samson is blowing away all his defenses. He's just too loveable to resist!

I'm going to update him to more playful, because he's becoming more playful as he works on being more comfortable.

He's got a great smile and is so happy to see us when we come home.

Still no piddling, no bad behaviors even when being left in the house alone while we're out. He's not crated and doesn't need it, although he sometimes likes to retire to Bruno's crate for a snooze.

Fill out an application for Samson today!

KP

Samson's Smile

Yesterday, Samson found his smile!! When we got home from work we got the world's biggest doggie grin. YAY!

He's still sleeping a lot, so not much has changed. He's still wonderful at all the things he's been wonderful about. Nothing ugly has surfaced. Still not peeing in the house, barking or doing anything other than be a really good dog.

He really REALLY REALLY wants to sleep next to me on the bed. If you're interested in him, I hope you'd consider letting him. It seems to be something that's important to him, although he's willing to take the hint when I say no.

I've also uploaded new photos that we got his first and second days with us. He's such a wee puppy! He's the size of our cat!

TT (my husband) thinks he's wonderful.

More tomorrow!

KP

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy

I'm afraid this is going to be another quick note, Peeps. Things are busy right now.

Today was a sleep day for Sammy. Not at all unusual for those dogs who come to us from a pound environment. Often they feel they have to be totally on their guard at the pound, so when they get here and realize that every room has a soft doggy bed, and that Bruno is just happy they are here and not interested in bothering them, and that there is food and water available at all times, they just pass out. I mean cold. They sleep sooooo deeply.

Sam woke up from his long lie-in this morning feeling much perkier. He's got bright eyes and a curly tail and ears that sit forward expectantly when he's happy. He has a look that seems to say that he's trying to figure out every single thing you're saying so that he won't make a mistake.

He's smart as a whip and already understands that he's not allowed downstairs into the basement (cat territory), and that he's not allowed to sleep on our bed. He'd RILLY RILLY like to, though, so if he came home with you and you wanted a snoozing companion he would be up for the job in spades.

We still have not heard a peep out of him. No barking at all thus-far. He's also not interested in getting invovled in the melee that is Wallace and Bruno when they get to tearing through the house. Mostly Sammy wants to sit on the couch and watch. He doesn't fetch, yet, that I've been able to tell.

He is a begger, but in a very unassuming way. He just sits off to the side while you eat and gives you his intense telekenetic stare that says that he could totally have some of that lunch.

He's sniffed at Jack, our dog-friendly cat, excitedly and then promptly ignored him again. Maggie, our non-dog-friendly cat hissed and yowled at him the moment she saw him and he backed away carefully.

Both of those are good-with-cats things. He may chase your cat if your cat runs, but if they hiss he'll back down, and if they are indifferent he's willing to go with that. He's not interested in munching them.

Still amazingly amazing with our son. Follows him around and is warm to petting from him.

Beware, though, that this guy is very small and easy to step on. Wallace, our three-year-old, has been around foster dogs all his life, as well as different tempraments and attitudes of dogs. He's had a lot of practice being good with them.

If you have a small child and this will be their first dog, I'd consider one that's bigger. Sammy is physically small and delicate and it would be easy to hurt him inadvertantly. He's not interested in running and playing or being manhandled. If you want that, I'd suggest one of the other dogs at YAH.

I don't know how much schnauzer is in him. That's what I have him listed as because that's what they said he was, but honestly he looks so utterly terrier to me. He looks an awful lot like Hairy Mclary from Donaldson's Dairy.

Anyhow, still perfectly lovely. No barking, no piddling, good with cats, kids and dogs. Intersted in sleeping and being a lap dog and licking you with that little tongue that makes it feel like you're getting licked by a guinea pig or something.

He's so intelligent and so utterly beensy! You'd love him!

Fill out an adoption form today!

Very, Very Sweet. Very, Very Nervous.

He's been here an hour, and here is what I know about Samson:

He's very good with other dogs.
He whines when he's frightened, but we have yet to hear him bark.
He responds like most dogs from the pound; lots of pacing, lots of water, lots of food.
He is very good at getting out to the yard and getting back in, despite steep stairs.
He's got nervous energy, so I don't know for sure, but his back legs look fine as of right now. We'll get him on Glucosamine anyhow.
He has updated shots, is heartworm negative, and has been treated for everything else.
So far, good with cats, although they haven't been around much.
Fabulous with our three-year-old.
Has a particular connection with males; is following TT all over the house.
Can sit.
Likes treats.

We'll update you more as he settles in and loses a little of his fear!

He's a dollbaby. He's a lap dog. He's a little snuggler that you carry around with you. He's a very, VERY sweet pocketbook dog.

He seems to love people.

I've already decided we're keeping him, and I'll believe that right up until he goes to his new home.

More on the way!

KP

Here Comes Samson!

Hello, everyone! I've started this blog to follow our newest rescue dog, Samson. We do rescue work through Young At Heart Pet Rescue. Did you know that dogs that go to the pound are considered elderly and unadoptable if they are over three years old? And that the owner-relinquished dogs are killed the fastest?

Young At Heart is a wonderful organization that works through a small network of foster homes to try and save as many dogs as possible in the three and over age range. Many of these dogs wind up at pounds because their owners have died or have decided to abandon them. Each and every dog that has come through our doors has been an instant dog. No potty training, no midnight barking or whining, no chewing or marking; these dogs are family dogs just waiting to fit right into your home as if they've always been there.

We, as in my family personally, dedicate ourselves to making sure that the dogs and the families our dogs go to are the right fit for one another. We take in one foster dog at a time knowing that we may have to do some work and give the dog a place to be calm before we see their true personality. When we foster we are prepared to keep that dog for the rest of its life, so we aren't trying to shove the dog off into a situation that isn't optimal. If you work through us you get a support network and all the information you could want about the animal before it comes home. We are dedicated to making dogs and families truly happy!

**** IT'S A BOY!****

Tomorrow sometime mid-afternoon the very noble Samson will be arriving at our home to begin his time as a fosterpuppy. My hope is that we'll move him through to his forever happy home as soon as possible, because this guy is one of those who has been through the wringer.

Apparently, he was adopted out about a year ago and for financial reasons the family had to bring him back. Usually I scoff at the whole "financial reasons" thing, but with the housing market what it is... well, it's a bad time to be a pet; even one that is beloved.

That means that Samson is hardly over the memory of the pound before he wound up right back there again. I do know that he lived with children and did very well in a test with another dog and a crated cat. He passed all the temprament tests with flying colors, including having food taken out of his mouth.

We're very excited to meet him, and although he does look a bit silly, he also has a noble countenance. I intend to snuggle him thoroughly.

We can't wait to meet you, Samson! Come and eat and play and sleep, puppydog, until your mommy and daddy come to get you!

Krissy Poopyhands

If you are interested in inquiring about Samson, please click on Young At Heart's website and fill out an adoption application today!