Going on Day 3...

Whew are we having fun! I can't believe it's almost been 3 full days!

Rufus is settling in nicely, getting a feel for our household movements.  He is a smart as well as a goofy boy. You have to be careful about the words you say out-loud, even if you are just talking.  He knows 'outside' so well, that if said AT ALL in any conversation -- he gets excited.  I'm trying to come up with different and less common words and phrases.... :)

There is a lot less pacing and we are noticing he is relaxing enough to lay down in our presence.  Well, maybe I should say Ka-Thunk down, as I don't think laying down is one of his more graceful moves.

Outside (whew - at least I can type that word without him noticing... yet), he is one energetic boy.  On his walking leash, he may not know his manners but doesn't pull or tug.  I usually don't even have to put pressure on the leash, a simple 'no', or 'Rufus come' will most often bring him back to me.  Not close to a heel yet, but awesomeness all the same!!!

Bring out a toy and whoo hoo!  The front legs go down, his butt goes up and tail starts wagging.  He loves fetch.  I have found that different toys mean different things to Rufus.  He has the twisty rope thing, (that I had to cut off the remains of the tennis ball) which is his FAVORITE retrieve toy.  The toy with a kong and some flat webbing attached is his 'maybe retrieve, maybe stop and throw around' toy.  But either way he gets his exercise!

It's so cute, after a romp outside he will come in and Ka-Thunk down and next thing you hear is this adorable little snore.  That's when I know we had our fun!

The cat chasing is a soon to be serious work in progress.  Trainer intervention on THAT one!  Although,  I dare say my one cat has proven himself almost as smart as Rufus.  Dexter, is a male cat that adopted us last winter and although lives here - still finds going outside an important part of his day.  Since Rufus now occupies the cat exit door area of the house (the cats get the other side of the house), Dexter has taken to meowing (and meowing...) to let us know he wants to go out.  We shut Rufus in the bedroom, Dexter skirts the area and slips out!  Dexter uses his normal 'knocking' on the door to let us know he wants back in - and the process is repeated.

No, we are NOT owned or trained by our cats - really.

Rufus has lots of polishing to be done, but the only real concern I have is the small animal chasing thing. He has so many great qualities that will easily turn him into a beautiful gem with focused training and lots of love!

And of course it is impossible NOT to love him, especially since he gives it soooo unselfishly!

Rufus Joins Us...

I'm so excited, we picked Rufus up on Friday evening!!  All I can say is WOW!  (Yes, that is a good thing).

He was super excited to get into the car, and my son sat in the back with him.  I'm not sure who was having a better time snuggling...  I would say about 20 minutes into the drive, Rufus realized he was driving further away from his Foster Family.  He sat up and quietly stared out the window,  but you could definitely tell he was sad.

As we pulled into our driveway, my son unhooked Rufus's leash from around the back of the seat (a doggy seat belt harness is in order!), and I opened the door.  Apparently Rufus wanted out of the car.... NOW.

Morgan handed me the leash, Rufus pushed behind Morgan and both came tumbling out -- Morgan backwards and upside down, while Rufus jumped down with grace!  As I helped gather my son from the ground and tried to stifle my hysterical laughter, Rufus thought the whole thing was just darn good fun!

After a potty tour of the yard, we moved inside to introduce Rufus to my husband and the cats.  I do have to wonder at the possible humor of the assessment that Rufus is good with cats.  He LOVES them - as appetizers! **Yikes**  Right now everyone is separated!  I'll get with the trainer on the proper way to safely start introducing them.

He settled down in his kennel for the night without a hitch.  I think he was tired out from all the new smells, people, places and small furry objects.

Early to bed means early to rise! Good thing John and I had to get up early to go to work/Scout Training, so the early morning wake up call was just fine.  Morgan spent the day with him, walking him, playing tug of war (Rufus is REALLY good at this one) and all but going through the HUGE supply of stuffed squeaker toys I bought.  That boy (Rufus) is killer with squeaker toys!  :)  We are happily accepting donations of stuffed toys, large tennis balls -- and super industrial strength Rufus proof dog toys~~

John got home first and Rufus became his shadow for a while.  And when I walked through the door, arms laden with bags and papers from my day of training -- Rufus was sooo excited!  Papers and bags went flying and Rufus thought this was also just grand.  After chasing after all the papers and trying to get to them before Rufus, I sat down and just pet him.

Rufus and I went outside for some MUCH needed fun.  He was full of pent up energy!  We played fetch the twisty cord thing for a good 45 minutes! Amazingly the ball attached to the end is still intact.

We came in, warmed up while I got some things done around the house and Rufus took turns following someone.  He is still confused about all of this newness, but he is so gosh darn cute - until you turn around and trip over him of course ;)

Before bed he had another chase the twisty cord thing and a potty walk and happily went to bed.

He is super smart, picks up on cues and commands fast!  Doesn't always want to act on them - especially if he is playing with his twisty cord thing (and no, I have no idea what it is called!).  But this was day one (and 1/2).

So now you see why I started this with WOW!

We will be heading to the pet store for a different dog food, he isn't thrilled with our choice (rolleyes) and of course a few more toys!

Getting Excited....

I met Rufus tonight!!  He is so Golly-Gosh-Darn Cute!  Well, with a name like Rufus, what could you expect.  I posted his picture from the rescue sight a few posts back - but here is a picture we took of him and me tonight.

Isn't he just the most... everything?  He was a bit confused tonight with all the people there - the foster family, coordinators from the rescue group, new people to meet (that would be us) and another German Shepherd that seemed a little put off by the attention Rufus was getting.

He is living in York, PA with his foster family at the moment - and with any luck Aja (the trainer that will be working with me) will be able to talk with another trainer that met him yesterday and get a better feel for him.

He had so many positive traits - didn't startle, has a huge toy and treat drive, he even walked like a gentleman up and down the steps with you... no racing here! (whew!)  Not a big puller on the leash - which is huge considering he is no lightweight!  He needs a few reminders, but not enough to yank me off my feet. Yet! :)

I think he is THE ONE!  So just a short post tonight - I figured I've been keeping too quiet lately anyway and I just HAD to share our evening with everyone.

As soon as I get more information, I'll fill you in -- and hopefully he will be coming to his forever home SOON!  (it's not like I'm a very patient person..... )

Ch..Ch..Ch...Changes

Ok - Murphy is out! :(   Apparently he was turned into a shelter against a breeder/owner agreement - so he went back to the breeder.  But after the initial evaluation - he turned out that he would have been too much dog for me anyway.  At least he has found his way back into the caring home of his dedicated breeder.  That is good news!

I'm still waiting to visit with Rufus and Georgia, they should be moved into the All Shepherd Rescue (ASR) system in Maryland soon.    ooohhh! I can't wait!!

Today, however was a very exciting day!!!!  We drove to Columbia to meet, Rosie!!  She has to be the absolutely most gorgeous Shepherd I have ever seen!!  Beautiful Red with Black coloring.  Stunning.  What was even better???? Her personality!  She was so sweet and lovable.  We hung around the shop where the Rescue was having an awareness showing for their program for about 1 1/2 hours.  (Hubby scored big points for being sooo patient) I got to walk around with Rosie, got a million puppy kisses, ruined her dinner by giving her WAY too many treats and observed her as she reacted to other people and her surroundings.

Very exciting....  She is definitely on the minimum side of my size requirements.  The poor dear was malnourished in the kennel that ASR rescued her from - so she has some fattening up to do.  Height-wise she is just barely there, but I'll get Aja's opinion when we can arrange another visit with the trainer.

Rosie was just the perfect lady.  She obviously was eager and happy to meet strangers - even kids, but not once did she pull forward to meet someone.  She was engaged in her surroundings, but if the people passed by without taking much notice, Rosie just sat happily at our sides -- tail a-wagging.  Now if someone approached, she stood up, wagged her tail and smiled --- but again, she didn't pull toward the people, just let them come to her.  And then charmed them to pieces!!

She needs leash manners, but is not a puller. (BONUS)  She just doesn't seem to know what to do or who to follow (if others are around).  I'm in love!!!  But I know I need to be objective --- which is why I'm relying entirely on Aja (the trainer) to be my objectivity.  Since we ALL know I have no will power and am a sucker for an adorable pet!

*Sigh* So the saga continues... ASR is working on getting Rufus and Georgia into Maryland so we can meet them - and we are trying to coordinate with Aja on her evaluation(s).

Gosh... I wonder what it's like to have patience???

I almost forgot! Here is a picture of Rosie and me.

Ohhh the anticipation!

Well, the Shepherd Rescue adoption coordinator doesn't think I'm completely nuts (yet), she even said she liked my enthusiasm!  :)  Whoo Hoo!!

I want to apologize to all for the Gloria reference (oops, did it again) and getting that song stuck in your heads.... but the dogs name is actually Georgia.  Not sure HOW I mixed that up!

I just read (on the rescue site) an update on a male GSD named Murphy (yes that really is his name).  He was previously a NO, NO with cats.  But he has moved into his foster home with 3 cats, so I'm waiting to see how he does with that -- if he doesn't eat any of them, there is hope.

Of course he does have one set of adoptive parents interested in him first (pout), but the foster parent update also describes him as having a strong drive and great strength and professional training is a must. All traits I'm looking for, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

It also sounds like there is a good chance of heading down to West Virginia the weekend of Nov 19th to meet Rufus and Georgia (just waiting on the foster parents to check their schedule).

Good Gravy! This is all so exciting!!

Waiting...

Did I ever tell you that I have the patience of a sand flea??? Especially when I get an idea in my head - I want to implement it NOW. *Sigh*

I have been approved by All Shepherd Rescue and I have already been put on the top of the list to look at Rufus (how cute of a name is that?), and I just asked a bout a new arrival, Gloria (sorry, I know you all just got THAT song in your head simply by reading her name...ugh).  Gloria just happens to be at the same foster home a Rufus, but they are still in West Virginia and technically not within the actual foster group of All Shepherd Rescue.

Now the volunteers of the Rescue are graciously working with that foster home to see if we can set up a visit in WV.  Let me add here that the volunteers at All Shepherd Rescue are so nice and friendly (and I'm not saying that in case they read my blog - especially since I don't think they even know about my blog) -- they REALLY are just nice people who care about these dogs!!  However, if anyone is going to push their patience to the limits.... it will be me.  Go figure.

I have e-mailed them twice in a few days to inquire about going to WV to see Rufus and then to share my interest in Gloria (darn, there is that song again!).  I wonder how many e-mails constitute cyber stalking???

Look at that face -- that's Rufus!  Doesn't he just look like a big goofy guy?

Gah! It doesn't help that they are all so dang cute and the descriptions that the foster parents write make you fall instantly in love with them.

Okay, that's it for now.  I'm going to sit on my hands... at least until later today, if I haven't heard back from the Rescue.... :rolleyes:

Approved!!

Well, after a long process, I have finally qualified to adopt a dog from The All Shepherd Rescue group. WOO HOO!  This rescue group has foster homes throughout Maryland taking in German Shepherd dogs and place them up for adoption to pre-approved homes.  I am very proud to have successfully been approved to adopt from this group.

With winter coming, we have decided to go in the direction of adopting a dog and working directly with a trainer, training the dog to be my service dog.  The option of driving to Laurel, to Fido's for Freedom, multiple times a week was going to prove difficult with my schedule (or should I say my son's Scout schedule, cross country schedule, college search schedule..... sheesh) - and winter weather adding to the long drive.

Having a dog here at home, leaves me to work one on one with the dog more regularly, but on my own schedule.  Aja Harris, the trainer from Mutt Magic Training Services, is extremely experienced with obedience training, agility training and competitive training, and has a strong backing with many of the vets and local shelters in the area.  Not to mention she is just the friendliest person!!

So, despite a long lull in my blog posting, I hope to now maintain a regular dialog as we visit new dogs, get  some preliminary pointers from Aja about the traits to look for in a potential service dog.  I hope I can figure out how to post pictures to the blog, so I can share in the fun that is surely coming my way in this endeavor.

First up is a meeting with Rufus -- and boy does his name fit him!!  He is a large shepherd mix (probably mixed with Rottweiler).  He is a big goofy guy!  The pictures show him with partially floppy ears, a big grin and a lolling tongue.  We have to drive to West Virginia to get our first look at him, but I can't resist those big eyes - so we are going to make a mini-vacation out of the trip.

Waiting in the wings is another large German Shepherd (most likely all Shepherd) named Murphy.  The Representative from All Shepherd Rescue is very favorable about him being a perfect match for my needs except he has one small little problem.  Or technically he has a problem with small things... notably cats.  They need to evaluate him and his apparent 'taste' for the feline critters to see if this is something we can overcome with training.  I am hoping to keep my current number of cats at 3, and I wasn't planning on using them as reward treats -- :) -- so we'll see how that one pans out.

An update on the fundraising, I have gobs of ink cartridges and plan on making my first shipment to the recycling place next week.  Please keep saving them, as well as used cell phones - as we will be needing the funds earned from the recycling project.  Fido's for Freedom will be getting a donation from the first batch (and funds collected after the adoption fee and some of the training is paid for) - because they have been a huge help in setting me on the right track.  If it weren't for the 100 mile round trip, I would have applied to them to get a service dog.  And either way, they provide a much needed service and are worthy of any financial help we can provide.

More news coming soon - so check back often!