Maturity

First...more puppies! Let's chart their progress from last week:

As you can see, they've changed dramatically over the course of the week: where there were four puppies napping together in a pile in the previous photo, one of the pups has now moved approximately a foot to the side at some point during the last 7 days, and there are now three puppies left napping in the pile. We'll have more astonishing developments for you next week, RIGHT HERE.

Ever since I entered kindergarten I've been learning about maturity. It's a process for me. Today I turned to 2 adult dogs, mature in age and manner, to see what light they could shed on the subject.

Skye is a 7-year old border collie mix. She's got one blue eye and one brown, just like the girl in Blue Crush:

Skye displayed some of the same behaviors we've seen in the 1-year old border collies, and some marked differences as well. The unquenchable desire to herd everything on G-d's green earth is still there in a big way. But even with the herding, Skye acts her age in other ways. She didn't lunge at anything during our walk, she's TOTALLY housebroken, and she even maintained good eye contact with me. She only really tried to herd (all) the things that came to her rather than racing frantically to them. This included me if I didn't stay on our walking path as well as any other dog that approached us or came within about 100 yards. Then she bristled, planted her feet, and waited for them to come to us. That was my cue to lead her in the opposite direction. So I'd say she's grown gracefully into the job she's been bred to do and still takes it quite seriously. She needs to be given the space to do it and would need to be the only dog in your home, for your sanity and hers.

And now for a special alignment-of-the-stars bonus: A dog named Skye guest stars in TODAY'S Mutts comic strip!
Mutts has a new book out which features strips in this vein, entitled "Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed." If you don't have occasion to read Mutts in the newspaper, this book would be a great way to experience its artistry and power whenever you want it...or need it.

Now let's meet our next paragon of maturity and poise. Cruz, an 8-year old black lab mix, is so mature he even dresses well. Seriously, how early did he get up this morning to look this dapper?

If you've spent any time around puppies or young dogs, the contrast in Cruz' manner may surprise you. He's well-trained and has had the years of practice so that it's become second nature to him. Like Skye, Cruz walks very well and listens very well. However, he lacks the dog-reactivity and actually values peace and quiet over unrestrained barking. His attitude says, "I'm a perfect gentleman. Anything else would be uncivilized." All you would have to do is provide the home sweet home and daily strolls.

Well, if there's a lesson here, maybe it's that when you spend time around well-behaved creatures, sometimes they can rub off on you and leave you a better person. Say, that right there sounds like a great reason to adopt an animal companion!

In addition to Cruz and Skye, I walked Connie, featured here last week. Yep, she's still a soccer dog, and she's dying for someone to play soccer with her more than ever! She is very housebroken and needs walks right now because our courtyard, where we could normally let her out, is under construction. Maybe when the courtyard opens again, she and I will start an SPCA soccer league...unless you come get her first!

As of 4/28/08:
Skye...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
Cruz...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
Connie...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Another day, another awesome Van Halen video

First...PUPPIES! No matter how much coffee you've had today, no matter how wide awake you may be, just tell me you wouldn't want to crawl right into this warm fuzzy pile o' puppies and join them for a luxurious nap. I quadruple-dog-dare you to resist.

After tearing myself away from the puppies' window (and resolving to take more naps), I walked Buster. This guy's a fine young border collie. The sign on his window states, in capital block letters, "HIGH ENERGY." Just to cut to the chase, I'll tell you right now that yeah, that is FOR REAL.

Buster's high energy manifests itself in jumping. We work with dogs like Buster on Anti-jump exercises, but it can be a gradual learning process for the dog. As this blog has detailed in the past, a dog jumping on or near people: BAD. By way of contrast, here's an example of GOOD jump:Yes, it's Diamond Dave, circa 1984 when he ruled the known universe. If you could use a video example of "good" jump, which I should more accurately be calling awesome jump, it's right here. Great inspiration for when you're training your dog, or having a drunken pool party on high school graduation night in your parent's back yard.

Back to Buster: he stopped jumping after I entered and re-entered his room a second time; then he was a perfect angel on his walk. Behold!

Connie is a border collie, too. Her thing is lunging (at birds, treats, ghosts, etc.). But check it: after 3 laps around the park, she wasn't lunging any more. A well-exercised border collie is a good border collie. After the 3rd lap we stopped directly behind the goalposts to watch the soccer game through the fence. This is when Connie forgot her fatigue and sprang back to life--turns out she's a soccer dog! She began playing goalie herself, diving for the ball each time it came near (even though it was on the other side of the fence).
She rocks and is fearless. Look for her in the next World Cup. And keep a soccer ball handy if you bring her home with you!

As promised, I am continuing to walk Ferron, on the mend from heartworm treatment. Ferron only gets 5-minute walks and mild exercise while she is recovering. Well, it's been over a month of this and the most significant change I observe in her is that she has now moved straight up to HIGH ENERGY status. You can kinda tell she needs to get out more, except you can't yet allow her to take off sprinting to her nearly-healthy heart's content. So if you adopt this sweet beauty, stock up on some chew toys and prepare for some good long walks and runs...eventually.

As of 4/21/08:

Connie...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Ferron...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Buster...AVAILABLE to be met; can be brought home after his upcoming neutering.

TPS REPORTS!!!

When I saw Casey the beagle in her room, she was all, "Walk me! Walk me! Please walk me! I haven't been walked all day...All week...All year!!!" So I walked her, only to be told afterwards by every SPCA employee in the building, in rapid sucession, "Casey was just out for a walk. Did you check the log?" By the time the fifth person told me this, it really started sounding like the line from Office Space: "We're putting new covers on the TPS reports. Did you get the memo?"
Watch Keanu demonstrate this classic predicament.

Here's Casey on her second walk in two minutes. Notice how it was all a big joke to her and she'd rather just kind of sit around anyway as soon as we're outside:

Now Casey's feeling repentant and saying, "I'm sorry I fooled you. Can we still be friends?" Oh, of course we can. I love ya!

Next was an Akita/Pit bull mix who hadn't been out yet: Sugar! Yes, she's as sweet as her name.

Sugar is very pretty as you can see. But she's also got loads of personality. And if you were to adopt her, you'd be very lucky to get such a well-trained girl right out of the gate: she walked when I walked, ran when I ran, and didn't lunge at anything or anyone, nor did she exhibit any noticeable fear of the usual city commotion. Mmm, Sugar!

Now for something completely different. Winnie is a Welsh Corgi/Australian Cattle dog mix. Winnie's all business. She's fun of course, and made me laugh out loud during our walk. So here's the thing: she is absolutley 100% dedicated to doing her job at all times. That job is herding people and things. You, me, the world, and everything in it.

We paused for a moment in the park to enjoy the sun on our backs and watch the soccer players. Immediately I felt a pair of paws on my lower back. I looked over my shoulder and there was Winnie up on her hind legs, herding me.

"Move it along, sir. No time for photos."

After several laps around the field:

"OK, one photo. Make it quick." Beautiful and a hard worker...that's Winnie.

As of 4/14/08:
Casey...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
Sugar...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
Winnie...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

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UPDATE from April 14, 2008: This blog went silent the last couple weeks while I was working fulltime with 2 other (virtual) animals, the main characters in my thesis project.

So below are some of the awesome doggies who got walked the last couple weeks but didn't receive a blog shout-out.

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3/31/08:

3/17/08: