NRG

We've been having some quality sunshine in San Francisco lately, so I lathered on the sunscreen and walked some dogs today who were as excited as could be for some fresh air and exercise. Especially the exercise part.

Jenny is a 1-and-a-half-year old Lab Retriever mix. She was acting a little funny at first in response to the "sit" command. We generally have in-room training sessions with the dogs as frequently as possible during their stay here at the SF/SPCA, and I always have a dog sit before putting on the leash and collar. But Jenny went from almost jumping, wagging her tail like crazy and running around in circles, to flopping down onto the floor laying on her back when I said, "sit". So she technically skipped "sit" and proceeded to "down". "Down" has its value, but there is a difference.

After a couple laps of jogging around the park, Jenny could sit just fine. Diagnosis: excitement! Jenny will need plenty of exercise as she continues to grow out of her puppy phase. With a good healthy walk or run, she's proven she can do great. And she's also proven she's a very sweet gal!

Luke is a 7-month old Lab Retriever mix. His roommate was in the process of getting adopted, so Luke and I went out for a lovely jog. Being only 7 months old, Luke is still a bit of a puppy and acts accordingly. He's well-behaved and knows his commands, but wow, does he have a healthy amount of energy! Additionally, he's got an extra-healthy appetite. I gave him a treat or two while leashing him up for our walk, and the entire walk he kept turning around and looking up at me--specifically, looking up at my pocket with the treats in it. When he wasn't suddenly stopping periodically to gaze toward the treats (almost making me trip over him every time), he was trying to eat anything in his path, including but not limited to: leaves, a twig, an acorn, and a piece of paper. Most of these he spat out. I suspect his roommate has been eating his food, but maybe that's exactly what Luke wants me to think. What I really think is: Feed him, walk him, pet him, and he'll love you forever!

As of 8/15/08:

Jenny...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION upon spaying.

Luke...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Olympic fever

Steffi and her bro Andre are still here, and each day brings them closer to being ready for their respective Forever homes. Today they were busy waking from their nap. The waiting list to adopt them is up to 29 people!!! Once Blogspot has the technology, I'll need to add an adoption stock ticker at the bottom of this page.

Magic, a 1-year old black Lab mix, was the clear choice for the first walk of the day. This was mainly because he's brand new here (from the Santa Barbara shelter), he doesn't have roommates yet, and therefore it was easy to get him leashed without it being a big production or bumper-car rally. Magic is also an Academy dog, and if he ever was an untrained puppy at one time, you wouldn't know it now! His powers of obedience and excellent behavior are uncanny. And magical. BTW, so are his powers of posing for the camera. He's got the same look on his face here as the yearbook photo of that really eager kid who was student council president...except Magic is cool!


Following Magic was Turk. In the spirit of the Olympics, Turk wanted to give our walk 110%. So we sprinted down the Florida street hill and back. There was no stopping to smell (or wizz on) the roses; it was nothing but cardio all the way. The closest parallel Olympic event would be either bobsledding (same breakneck speeds down a narrow track) or perhaps swimming, for the way my eyes were stinging and my nose was running afterwards (It was a chilly day). If you are in better shape than me--which shouldn't be too difficult at the moment, thanks to my recent academic constraints--and can handle a sprinter like Turk, please come in and meet him!

For this picture I had to turn on the wind machine in order to get his tongue blowing in the breeze just right. America's Next Top Model, Canine edition, here we come!

You gotta love a dog with smile lines around his mouth. Now that's Olympic spirit:

As of 8/8/08:

Magic...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION upon Academy graduation; AVAILABLE to be met.

Turk...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Back to the dog days of summer

It's good to be back from vacation! While I was away, I had to get my dog fix from the puppies prancing on the beach in Ocean City, MD, and from Cameron, a black Lab retriever adopted from the shelter in Denton, TX, who now lives with Dottie, his human, in Rockville, MD. Look for an exclusive post-adoption follow-up interview with Dottie in this space in December...

After spending some quality brother-sister time on the East coast last week and hanging out with 2 of my favorite brother-sister Siamese cat adoptees, there were 2 brother-sister boxer/mix puppies, Steffi and Andre, waiting to greet me here at the SF/SPCA. OK, maybe they weren't really waiting for me per se, as they were sound asleep the whole time, but they're here, and they're beautiful!


Launching right back into my exercise program, I walked/ran Travis. He's a pleasantly fiesty 1-year old Hound/mix. Right now he's roommates with Sweet Pea, featured here back in June. Getting ready for his walk, Travis was basically bouncing off the walls. I rewarded him for each successful "sit" and eventually leashed him up. Continuing this anti-jump training will be crucial to Travis' future success in his new home, wherever that may be. He definitely knows how to sit--he just requires the repetition to positively re-enforce the behavior. But he's on the right track. And he already gets along fine with other dogs, as evidenced by his abstaining from leash-pulling or uttering a peep when we passed various other dogs in and out of the shelter. He's very affectionate with people as well as dogs, and he practically purrs when you pet him...Travis is an all-around sweet guy!

Photo evidence, exhibit A...Going in for the kiss:


Also affectionate in his own way is Harvey, a black and white Lab retriever/Border collie mix featured here last month. Happily, Harvey's now an Academy dog, complete with his own trainer who works with him daily on behavior and advanced training, so he's steadily improving. He "checked in" occasionally during our walk, looking up and making eye contact with me, but the Border collie in him urges Harvey to scan the horizon continually for objects and beings to herd. While he didn't lunge at any dogs we passed, he is in our dog-reactive category simply because he loves to herd, corral, and cordone off other dogs. He's a social butterfly like Travis, happiest around people and other dogs. Harvey is 5, but he could easily pass for a young pup of 1 or 2 years on account of his energy level. And yet here he is, sitting like a lil' angel (after some proper exercise, of course).

As of 8/1/08:

Travis...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.
Harvey...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION upon Academy graduation; AVAILABLE to be met.