My Dog Life

I have BIG news to share. BIG BIG. Saba was adopted!! *celebrate celebrate* These photos are from the going away party we threw for her. Well, it wasn’t so much a party as it was some special treats for us dogs and my mom taking photos. Saba is going from having a foster mom and two foster brothers to having a furever Dad and canine cousins.

She met her new Dad — and one of her new cousins — this weekend and after some careful thought, her Dad realized he can’t live without her. We got to spend the rest of the week with her so that when she starts off in her new home on Saturday, she’ll get to have a couple days to get settled with her Dad before the workweek starts up.

Saba has been with us for four months. Four months! She started crashing at our place the day after Christmas. She was really scared and shut down when she got here. She was even afraid of my mom for a while. Today, Saba is funny, friendly, playful, sweet girl. She’s only a little bit scared sometimes. We all took our time with her and gave her space. It’s been fun to watch her come out of her shell. Joey especially loves to play with her.

We’re going to miss Saba very much. But this is what fostering is all about. Taking in a homeless pup, helping them grow and blossom and seeing them through to their forever home. Congratulations Saba and good luck! I’m going to enjoy being a two dog household…while it lasts.

Celebrating my 3-year-adoptaversary! Last week marked three years since I was adopted from the San Francisco SPCA. My mom says it must have been a sign that the SPCA named me “Happy” because I’ve brought a steady stream of happiness into her life when she’s needed it the most. Joey, Saba and me got special treats to celebrate though I must admit Joey and Saba enjoyed theirs more than I did.

I normally like to reflect on the past year when I celebrate these anniversaries but this year, I’m going to look forward instead. I look forward to seeing my foster sister find her furever home (there’s a prospect on the horizon!), I’m excited to enjoy more walks around the neighborhood now that Spring is finally here and I’m planning on doing some training with Joey so he can learn some of the same tricks I know. I also continue to keep a close eye on my liver disease and at my last vet check, they said I’m “holding steady.”

I need to stick with my “light” blogging schedule for the time being. Licks, love, cuddles, tail wags to you all.

A Happy picture to spice up your Sunday.

Quiet Playtime

It’s been one year since I adopted my brother Joey. An entire year of being brothers! A lot has happened in one year. I’ve gone from wondering who the heck is this canine in my house to completely embracing him as my buddy, my playmate, my bff and my snuggle partner. In no particular order, here are the best 5 things about having a brother:

1. He helped me gain some confidence. Having a dog friend to socialize with on a regular basis has really given me a confidence boost. I am still a little on the shy side but I have really come out of my shell. I think having Joey around has helped me grow as a dog.
2. I get to play. Before Joey came into the picture, my mom saw me full-on play with another dog only a handful of times. Now I pretty much play daily. 
3. I get to be the boss. I do love my brother…I promise…but I also love bossing him around. When he first joined our family, I took it upon myself to gather up all the toys and the bones in the house and guard over them. Now, I don’t do that exact thing anymore but it’s still pretty obvious that I’m the boss around here. Joey doesn’t seem to mind so much.
4. I have a best friend. The first few times Joey and I came close to snuggling together my mom’s heart was really happy. Now we snuggle together all the time. We also explore the yard together, walk well on leash together, run around together, get in trouble together…you get the idea. We’re two peas in a pod now.
5. I got to be a foster brother. After we adopted Joey from a rescue group and learned how well his foster mom took care of him, I got inspired to foster my own dog. I talked my mom into giving it a shot and we took in Lady girl earlier this year. Having a foster sister has been buckets of fun….

And I’m super SUPER happy to share that Lady was adopted today!! I let Lady be my sister for over 5 months but it was time for her to move on to the next step of her life with a fur-ever family. Today she met her new mom, a very nice girl who is in college. She was smitten with Lady. Her new mom lives right by my mom’s work! I’m hoping we’ll get to see Lady every now and again. I miss her already but I’m happy for her. I know she’s going to do great in her new home. 

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Joey and me’s “brothers-a-versary” than by finding Lady a new home. We helped save a life! How cool is that?!

Last year I experienced a milestone in my life when I adopted a brother. This week I’m experiencing another big milestone: a foster sister. (!) My family helped save a dog this weekend and now she’s staying with us until she finds her forever home. Her name was Nadia but we’ve taken to calling her “Lady.” It suits her better. She’s from South Carolina where she was used for breeding and left to live outside year-round. She is only 9 lbs. Some people are really mean. She was dropped off at a high kill shelter but lucky for her, she was given a second chance by Annapolis Dog Rescue. My mom spotted her picture and story on facebook and signed us up to take her in.

My parents picked her up on Saturday evening. She came in a van loaded with about 60 dogs, all in crates, most of whom are puppies. Lady is 2-years-old. The van is driven all the way up the East Coast and meets rescue groups along the way who then pick up the dogs and find homes for them. Our group took 9 dogs. One puppy went directly to his new forever home and the others went to foster homes. I wasn’t there but I hear it was an amazing sight.

My parents brought Lady home and introduced Joey and me to her in our backyard. My tail started wagging the second I saw her and it was a very smooth introduction. Joey and me were pretty curious about her and we’ve been very welcoming so far. We even let her get in bed with us all, no problems. Joey thinks she’s his girlfriend if you know what I mean. After we had our backyard intro, Lady was brought inside for a bath (she was really dirty), given a meal and set up with a cozy crate. 

It’s only been a couple days but things are off to a great start. She’s a really easygoing dog and seems to like all of us (who wouldn’t?!) and we like her too…as long as she stays a guest and not a permanent resident around here. If you’d like more information about adopting Lady, visit her Petfinder.com profile*. 

*Lady begins her heartworm treatment this week.

My dad’s business is in San Francisco but I live in Annapolis. He is “bi-coastal” and travels between both places. We miss him so much when he’s gone! This photo was taken the morning after he’d come home from a trip to San Francisco. I was SO happy to have him home. Joey too. As much as it pains my mom to admit it, dad has sorta become my favorite. They even call me his dog and Joey her dog. They’re kidding of course, but there’s a bit of truth behind it. My mom says the only good thing about my dad going away is that she gets to be my favorite again.

We had to take my dad back to the airport today for a flight out to SF. My mom tagged along to help me navigate. I was sad to see him go and I cried on the way home, something I don’t normally do. Another negative of my dad being away…my dad was on my side of the whole “Happy doesn’t need a haircut right now” argument. I bet my mom’s gonna sneak in a grooming session while he’s away! Dad, come back soon!!

Joey and I took our parents to the San Francisco Chihuahua Meetup at Stern Grove Park over the weekend and as you may know, that’s where we first met Joey. Before we were even out of the parking lot, someone stopped us to say, “Is that Joey?” like Joey is some kind of rockstar. Wait a sec, is he a rockstar? All I know is there were a lot of people there excited to see Joey and he was just as excited to see them. My brother is popular! He had a bunch of nice foster parents and foster chi siblings at the Meetup. We all took a walk around the park together.

I’m a little embarrassed to say I don’t have any pictures better than this one. Just know there were about 9 or 10 of us small dogs and few of our favorite humans tromping around on a walk together. I did my best attempt at socializing but I gotta say, that Joey showed me up this time. Better luck next time as they say.