FOSTER HOMES NEEDED!

Paw Pals is always looking for new families to foster our great animals! If you think you could help us by fostering a dog or cat, please contact Beverly at ploughe@geetel.net . Beverly would be happy to send you a foster application. All it takes is a little patience and a little love.

Posh is a Pro When it Comes to Learning New Tricks!

Hi Lisa and everyone,
I thought you might like to hear one success story. Here are some recent pictures of my dog, Posh. I adopted her from the Clinton County Humane Society in June 2003. She was one year old. I saw her picture on Petfinder and read her bio and I knew she was the dog I wanted.
I just wanted you to know, I still have her and she is the bright spot in my life. She loves me unconditionally.
She is so smart! Shortly after adopting her from you, I signed her up for training classes at Petsmart. She was a quick learner and she tried so hard to please me. I also taught her many tricks and she is quite the performer when company comes to visit. Her tricks are speak, roll over, beg, and she holds a treat on her nose and waits for me to say ok, then she flips it up and catches it in her mouth, and I also taught her to pray. I say "paws up" and she immediately puts her two front paws on my knees. I say pray and she tucks her head between her two front paws. I say "amen" and she looks up to get her treat. What a dog!
She goes everywhere with me in the car when cooler temperatures allow. Because she is a labrador, she loves water. When she sees a creek or a river, she dives right in almost dragging me down the creek bank with her. I wish I lived near a lake. She could swim every day.
Also, my sister and brother-in-law live on a farm in Bargersville, not far from me. On cooler summer days I let Posh run loose on the farm. I walk around the perimeter of the cornfield and Posh runs ahead. When she is a good way up the path she looks back to see me. She doesn't let me out of her sight. I taught her to sit on command and while we are walking along the path near the road, when a car is coming, I can shout to her from a distance to SIT and she immediately sits and waits for the ok continue on.
She is so devoted to me and she communicates very well. It seems she knows everything I say. "Where's your ball, Posh?" She runs across the livingroom floor, gets her ball and brings it to me to toss. Nomatter what time of day or in the wee hours of the morning, she lets me know when she has to go outside. She comes up to me and nudges my arm when she has to go out and when I say, "do you want to go outside?" She gets all excited and charges to the back door. All of the dogs I've had in the past, I always had to guess after 8 hours if they had to go outside, but not Posh, she lets me know.
I often check your shelter site to see the dogs that are available for adoption. I really like black dogs. They are so pretty. I did not realize there was a "black dog syndrome," when I adopted her. I just thought she was a pretty dog and that was that.
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful dog and a great companion.
Kind regards,
Susan Irwin
Camby, IN 15 miles south of Indianapolis

Another one of our dogs

No one has sent me any happy stories lately, so here is another one of ours. This is just a brief video clip of Kaya. She was surrendered to the shelter at 3 years old. She was terrified there, and wouldn't eat. My wife and I brought her home as a foster on Thanksgiving Day, 2007. We walked dogs that afternoon, and felt sorry for her. The video is one we posted on Petfinder. There were a few people interested in her over the next few months, but none were the home she deserved. One lady actually took her home until her boyfriend said no, and she brought her back to us. We adopted her. She is a very loyal and loving dog. She also eats very well now.

Check out Lisa's work

I don't have this video handy to post here directly, but I'd still like you to see it. It's one Lisa did of Marlo. She did a really nice job on it! This is another thing that we try to do on Sunday afternoons. There are always new dogs and cats that need to be put on the website. Pictures and videos of pets take a lot of time to get right. The subjects don't alway cooperate. A good picture or video can really help to get a pet adopted. We could use help with this too if you're interested. Sometimes we just need an extra hand to hold the pet while their picture is taken. When you click on the link, it will take you to Marlo's page on Petfinder. Click on "view video". This will bring up Marlo's video that you can click on to play. After you're done, come back here and leave a comment if you wish. Thanks!
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=13313974
Sorry, this link is no longer available.

An expensive dog, but worth every penny!

This is an update on Lacy, a dog my wife and I adopted from the shelter a couple of years ago. She was surrendered by her former owners because they were moving. She was 9 years old at the time. We assume she was an outdoor dog and may have been chained most of her life. When we took her in as a foster, she quickly became one of our favorite dogs. She loved the chance to be in the house with people, and would lay at our feet and give looks of great appreciation for what we had done for her. She never caused us a bit of trouble from the beginning, and still doesn't to this day.

Shortly after we took her in, we found out she was heartworm positive on a routine vet visit. Paw Pals paid for her treatment, and she spent the next few months recuperating. She was supposed to go on a transport to the east coast through a rescue that adopts out many Labs and Lab mixes in that area. By this time, we were pretty attached to her and couldn't bear the thought of shipping her off to an unknown home far away. She already thought she had found her home in us. She did. We adopted her.

Lacy hasn't been the healthiest dog, but has been very happy and fairly active. She has been overweight from the beginning and absolutely lives for her meals and any treats we might give her. How can you resist a face like that knowing what she's been through?

Earlier this week, we found out Lacy is diabetic and will require twice daily shots and a special diet for the rest of her life. This could easily run into around $100.00 a month. That doesn't sound too bad until you know how many other pets we have at our house, and how we already spend thousands of dollars per year on food, vet care, heartworm preventatives, and all the other costs that come with responsible pet ownership. Regardless, Lacy is worth it and we will let her live out her life in our home the way she deserves it. She is 11 now, and the 2 years we have given her so far have easily meant more to her that her first 9 years.

I'm sure many of the rest of you have stories like this about pets that you have gone the extra mile for. Some people might think we're crazy. We all know we're doing what's right and will continue to do it as long as we're able. Thank you to all of you that think the way we do. The world is a better place for animals because of you. We all still have a lot of work to do, but it's stories like these that make it worth trying.

Rick

Gracie is at Home Sweet Home with Chandler

Gracie, formerly known as Berry, was in a foster home for five weeks while she recovered from an upper-respiratory virus. Thanks to Paw Pals for her medication and doctor visits and a little TLC, she recovered fully. Here is a message from her new family.
Gracie is really enjoying the spring. She’s now sitting in her kitty beds (yes plural – front and back of the house) to watch the birds and other activity. Gracie has also been out on our screened in porch a few times and really likes that.
Take care,
Debbie

Ellie's new home!

Here is an update on Ellie, who was adopted from our shelter last week. She was Snow White (one of Lorel's pups) when she was with us. She has already learned her new name, and her family is really happy to have her. She is becoming a very spoiled dog, and is very smart. She has already learned "fetch" and "no". She met all of her extended family on Easter, and her cuteness won over all of them! Her new mom is glad that they saved an animal from the shelter rather than bought one from a breeder. Ellie seems to be a little lazy, and wants to sleep all the time, which suits her family just fine. Many pups can be a little hyper and can be a handful. Ellie has also decided that her new job is to protect the family. She will bark at them if she feels any of them are in any danger. Some of her favorite things are belly rubs, car rides, her new stuffed elephant, baths (believe it or not), and having her hair brushed. The vet said she is very healthy and will likely be a big dog (she weighed in at a whopping 12.5 lbs.). Ellie's mom thanked us for having such a nice facility, and for taking great care of her until they got her. We would like to thank her for giving Ellie a great home!

Good exercise, and we don't charge a membership fee!

This is just a few short clips of some of the dogs being walked yesterday. The identities of the volunteers have been left out to protect me! They didn't seem too thrilled with being taped. The dogs didn't seem to mind at all! It was a nice day to walk the dogs. It was a little windy, but warm. Most of us got in 4 to 5 miles of enjoyable exercise. If you would like to join us, we do this every Sunday 1-3, regardless of the weather. The dogs really appreciate the extra attention, and time practicing on a leash makes it a little easier to show them to potential adopters.

Living the good life!

This is just an update on a cat that was rescued from our shelter and adopted out a little over a year ago. He was Timmy when he was with us. His name is now Finnegan, and he is apparently quite the charismatic and popular guy. He loves to walk on a leash, and charms everyone who meets him. This is a picture of him looking out over the water (notice the leash trailing behind him). Now that's a happy story!

We want to hear from you!

We would like your feedback on what we can do to make our blog better for you. Would you like more information about our shelter or Paw Pals? Would you like to see more "happy stories" about pets adopted from our shelter? Do you want us to pass along news articles we have found that relate to pets? We're open to suggestions. There is a place below this post that you can leave comments or suggestions. Come on, don't be shy! It's really easy to do and you can be anonymous if you want to (anything rude or unkind will probably be deleted). The verification box where you type in the word you see is just so we don't get a lot of spam. If you'd prefer not to comment publicly, please email one of us.

Rick: ploughe@geetel.net

Lou Ann: louden@ffni.com

Lisa: lisaristow@comcast.net

Please feel free to comment under any of the older posts if you like, too. We would really appreciate hearing from you!

Volunteer callout!

HEY! WE NEED SOME HELP HERE!

This is just Mark's way of letting you know that we are looking for volunteers. Over the next couple of months, we will be making a big push to add to our volunteer base. If you are 13 or older (under 13 must be accompanied by an adult), love animals, and have a desire to make a difference for the homeless pets of Clinton County, WE NEED YOU!

There are many ways you can help us. We have a list of ways to volunteer further down this page, and there are many more things you can do in addition to those. Please contact us if you or anyone you know is interested in joining us. You can call the shelter (check our hours, listed below to the right) at 765-654-7717, email Rick at ploughe@geetel.net, Lou Ann at louden@ffni.com, or Lisa at lisaristow@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you! By the way, Mark wants to know what you're waiting for!