Miko Adopted!

Remember Miko?



Found in Taiwan with a rubberband embedded in her neck and head enlarged more than 2 times its rightful size, Miko came to stay with Robin and her own Taiwan dog, Logan.



Ultra ultra fearful of every human and most dogs, on top of being the most overlooked color, we began to think that she might end up as Robin's permanent dog since months and months had passed without a single adoption inquiry.

But one day about a month ago, Paul & Chris saw this picture:



And they fell in love.

As happens with most adopters who initially express interest in one of our harder-to-adopt dogs, we felt sure that once they fully understood her intensity of fear, they would lose interest. But that wasn't the case at all. Even having been mostly avoided by Miko during their multi-houred visit, they still wanted her to be part of their family.

Miko has been with them for almost a month now. She's still not totally sure of her new humans (and the cat), but we are thrilled that she now has a family to call her own, and one that has the patience and understanding to allow Miko to learn to trust them on her own timeline.

Thanks to Paul & Chris, not only has 1 dog found her Forever Home, but we can now help another dog find his. Enter Seven:



More to come about him later.

A Sneak Peak of Seven

Seven is Walkin' the Bark's latest rescue. It's a long story. Not much has been mentioned about him yet because he's a work-in-progress. But here's a sneak peak.

Sassy, 11-Yr Old Lab Mix, Needs a Home

Every day I get emails from various shelters and rescues with lists of dogs that need to be saved. The numbers are endless. For every one you save, it seems like 10 more take their place.

Today I received an email from Lake County Shelter, a shelter that is always always overcrowded. They are far from any urban areas so relative to the number of animals they get, there are very few adopters. They always have wonderful dogs that have been overlooked. We have rescued a few from them in the past couple of years. Our only requirement has been that they not be aggressive towards people, dogs, and depending on the fosterer, cats. And every time the shelter has matched us with dogs that have been nothing short of wonderful.




Sassy is 11 years old, she was surrendered to the Lake County Shelter due to a divorce. She is good with other dogs, no reaction to cats and has low energy. She was tested for heartworm and sadly came up positive. We have had a few donations come in for her, and yesterday a wonderful woman called the vet and donated the majority and remaining money to treat her. She is going to the vet for her first injection today and again tomorrow. We are looking for a rescue so she can be fostered outside of the shelter. She sleeps on her bed all day, and has a depressed look on her face. It is so hard on these senior dogs to be turned into the shelter after a life with a family. She is a Lab mix and is spayed. Please let us know if you can help her.

Every dog's story is a sad one, else they wouldn't have ended up in a shelter. But there is an even deeper element of sorrow when the dog is an older one. Look at Sassy's eyes. She actually reminds me quite a bit of our dog, Boomer.

If anybody is interested in fostering or adopting Sassy, please email us at dogs (at) walkinthebark.org or contact Marnette at Lake County Shelter at TheMeaneys (at) comcast.net. Walkin' the Bark Rescue would be more than happy to sponsor Sassy (since she is heartworm positive, she cannot be adopted directly from the shelter--she would need a rescue to sponsor her), and we can work with you regarding transport, supplies, and anything else you may need.

BTW, heartworm is not transmitted directly from animal to animal. It is transmitted only by the bite of an infected mosquito, so there isn't any risk that Sassy's heartworm is contagious.

A Visit to Crazy Lady & her Sugar

We took Boomer & Phoebe to visit Crazy Lady and Sugar today. We got to see Crazy Lady sporting her new motorized wheelchair. It is awesome. The sidewalks will never be safe again. (Just kidding--I'm sure CL will follow all rules of the road when operating her vehicle. Just don't get in her way.)

Sugar was excited to see me. She came down the driveway when she saw a visitor and then when she realized who it was, her body tail went wild and she made her funny little chirpy sounds. Then she heard the dogs, paused for a long second, and then went really crazy when she realized we had Boomer & Phoebe with us.

Here's a short video of them playing. You can see Sugar's dynamics with Phoebe is very different than it is with Boomer. She is forever trying to chase Phoebe, jump on her, slam her body against her, always making physical contact and trying to get Phoebe to play. With Boomer though, she always rolls over to show her stomach and their play together (when Phoebe isn't in the picture) is gentler.

In this video, you can see Sugar trying to balance both dynamics. (Sorry the video isn't that good. It's from the iPhone!)

Eat your Veggies - Part 1

Dogs cannot digest whole fruits and veggies. Their digestive tract is unable to break down the cell walls of such foods (or so I've read). So if you want your dogs to get more of the benefits out of fresh veggies, you'll need to break them down by such methods as food processing, grinding, juicing, or steaming.

But whole veggies can still be fed to dogs as a low-calorie, all natural, fresh treat.

Here's an old video of Junebug, a dog we fostered a couple of years ago, enjoying a carrot.



Junebug was on the "Urgent" list at Lake County Shelter, a shelter that is notoriously overcrowded all the time. With the help of a team of volunteers, she was transferred from Lake County to Sonoma to Berkeley, where we picked her up to take home with us to Antioch. A mix of lab and pit (we think), Junebug was one of the best dogs we've ever fostered--well-behaved, submissive, friendly to all dogs and people, and not overly energetic. Just goes to show what hidden gems can be found at shelters, and that black dogs shouldn't be overlooked as often as they are. The family who eventually adopted Junebug from us (and boy were there a lot of people interested in her!) was very lucky to get such an all-around wonderful dog.

Guard Dog on Duty

I am guarding the remote controls and the pit.

The Other Popeye

Popeye here.



Yes, that is a belly band around my head. Don't judge.

So the other night, while the humans were asleep, I was on the computer researching the latest stock exchange prices when I came across Auntie Jen's website. Auntie Jen lives in a galaxy far far away called Alabama and offers pet care services, pooch parties, and puppy weddings. And while I haven't found that special someone who will make an honest dog of me, I did see something else on Auntie Jen's website that I knew Foster Mum would be interested in.

This is Popeye:


Notice the resemblance?





See, he's only got 2 legs like me. Popeye lives at the Rainbow Bridge now, but who'd'a thunk there would be another Popeye the 2-legged dog in the existence of the whole universe?

Foster Mum wrote to Auntie Jen and Auntie Jen was kind enough to reply:

The Popeye I knew lived in Australia. He (or rather his wonderful mummy, Ali) gave me the name Auntie Jen, as I lived with her (and other times in the same neighbourhood as her) for two years and helped her care for him.

My friend Ali is the one who invented Popeye's wheels and his "swimmers." He did hop around her yard like a little squirrel. He was such a sweetheart. However, when we got those wheels on him, he would take off down the road like a bullet--I'd have to remind him of the speed limit!

He had a lot of upper-body strength and would use that strength to pull his back end (attached to the wheels) down the road. From time to time, he would come out of them and we'd have to re-attach them.

When we got to the beach, we'd trade the wheels out for his swimmers. He loved to "run" down the beach, fetch coconuts, and body surf with his dog buddies, so the swimmers helped prevent scrapes to his backside.

His back legs were paralyzed at an early age, and had to be removed, so most of his life (outside of his home) was spent on wheels. He had quite the active social life--and volunteered as a very successful collector for a branch of the RSPCA.

When we'd get back to the house from the beach or other outing, he'd hop around the yard. Ali had some workers smooth out the rocks on her back patio for his comfort. She had lush green grass. And Popeye had his own kiddie pool, with a ramp she built so he could hop up it and into the water to cool off.

Foster Mum has seen several 2-legged dogs online before but never has she seen one move in quite the same way that I do. That means she's also never seen one with quite the same contraptions that I have to help me get around. Until Auntie Jen's Popeye that is.

When I first went to live with her, she tried to convert a little dolly on wheels for me so that I could sit on it and push myself around, much like Auntie Jen's Popeye had in the 2nd picture above. But her mechanical skills are worse than mine and she couldn't get it to work. So it's interesting for her to see another dog with such a similar piece of equipment.

Anyway, it's too bad you need a spaceship to get to Alabama. Otherwise, I'd have Auntie Jen throw me a huge whopping party with all the fixins'--courtesy of Foster Mum of course!

Follow-up email from Auntie Jen:

I cried my eyes out with tears of joy when I got your latest email. I am floored and so honoured. Thank you so much.

That is the single most uplifting and inspiring video I have ever seen. And the music is so perfect, too.

I read the blog, and it made me feel so good in so many ways. The fact that you posted our boys side by side like that, and posted my story about my Popeye with pics...well, it just moved me.

By the way, I have a huge crush on your Popeye. He's just beautiful!

As for the wheels--When my Popeye was in the backyard, he went without wheels. We only used the wheels when he was out collecting for the RSPCA or speeding down the street to get to the beach to hang with his mates. :)

I want to say the platform for the wheels was something like a foot by 3/4 foot and half moon shaped. This was seven years ago, so my memory of it isn't as sharp as it used to be. The length of the platform was just enough for his backside to fit, basically. Underneath the platform were two wheels. And they were the smaller rollerskating wheels--not the big, round ones I remember from childhood. For lack of a better description, I remember them looking like large Lifesaver candies, if that makes sense. :)

As for keeping him in them, that was the trickiest part, at least for me. His mummy designed the skates, but I often took him on outings, so I got a lot of experience with keeping him in the skates.

The straps were basically a set of four velcro straps that we'd criss-cross, coming up from his groin/stomach area and affixing to velcro that crossed over the opposing hip. What I remember being the trickiest thing about it was finding that balance in how snug to make the connection. Too loose and he'd come out; too tight and his movements would put too much pressure on the velcro, and he'd come out. Fortunately, the wheels were low to the ground, and he had supervision during these times, so coming out of them didn't seem to phase him.

We also had some ways that we dealt with the absorption of moisture. Please let me know if that's a concern for you and your Popeye, and I will explain how we helped to prevent that, especially since the material that covered the platform caused him to sweat.

I am so impressed with the wheels you have invented. Boy, can he run! He looks so happy. Looks like he's a beach dog, too. I love that still of him running under the Golden Gate. :)

Thanks again for contacting me and posting what you posted and sharing the video with me. You made far more than just my day. And it's my honour to be able to share anything that might benefit you. Feel free to share any of this with others. Being able to be a friend to animals and the people who love them is what I live for.

Many Thanks,
Jennifer
aka Auntie Jen