A sweet, smart, energetic fellow: Blue just needs to learn some manners.
Last updated: Sept. 24, 2018
Base Info:
Arrival date: August 24th, 2018
Breed: Terrier Mix
Sex: Male
Age: Young, Adult, Mature, Senior
Weight: @ 35 pounds
Spay/Neutered: Yes
General Health: Excellent
Temperament: High energy but affectionate and playful
Gets Along with Dogs: Good neighbor, likes to play. Not good at sharing.
Gets Along with People: Yes. Still jumpy/nippy but working on that.
Housebroken/Crate Trained: Yes
Departure date: Sept 21, 2018
History
Found as a starving stray.
Known Issues & Progress
Blue was moved here from another foster because he was getting possessive of his Foster mom and nasty toward the other dogs when they approached her. He’s here for socialization training and calming down.
Medical
DA2PP:
Bordatella:
Rabies: Aug. 17, 2018 (Claws n Paws)
Spay/Neuter: Aug. 17, 2018 (Claws n Paws)
Wormed:
Flea/Tick preventative: 08/18, 09/18
Heartworm preventative: 08/18, 0918
Heartworm Test: Aug. 17, 2018 (Claws n Paws) NEGATIVE
Gallery
In roughly chronological order, newest at the bottom. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. Some pictures are linked to Doggy Tales and videos about Blue, click those to open the related story or video.
Blue settled in quickly
Loves an (almost) empty peanut butter jar!
New neighbor: Ugg Not his reaction, neighbor’s name
I got word last night that Blue will be leaving on Friday’s rescue run. He is going to a rescue that has experience with rowdy dogs, so he ought to do okay. Ugg will be staying for another round.
The ironic part is that Ugg is actually doing better than Blue at settling down, but I guess I haven’t made that clear. And Blue is a small dog, so even though he is more rowdy than Ugg, he is not terrifying like Ugg can be when he does decide to get my attention by jumping on me and mouthing.
So I’ll help Blue pack his bags for the trip, and Ugg will hang with us for another month.
We’re on our third Kuranda dog bed for Ugg. The first one I ordered was too small. The second was framed in all PVC and he chewed up a corner piece. Kuranda sent replacement parts (aluminum top caps for all four legs, but while we were waiting for those he chewed up more parts.
27″ x 44″ all aluminum frame Kuranda dog bed
Because of the generosity of a good-hearted woman, I ordered an all aluminum Kuranda bed for him. That one has held up well and he is laying on it. He didn’t seem interested in laying on the PVC bed, only in chewing it.
It has been rainy, and he likes being up off the wet gravel. Ugg is also using his dog house for the first time. Until the remnants of Florence came flouncing through, Ugg preferred to camp on the pea gravel, even in light rain (because his roof keeps most of his kennel dry in a light rain). But the heavier rain and breezes sent him scuttling for shelter.
Blue likes his Coolaroo and his doghouse and uses them all the time. He has done only minor damage to his Coolaroo dog bed.
These two are able to share the play yard again. They had a dust-up a while back over a yard bone one of them found. That got ugly, though it wasn’t Ugg who started it. Blue gets possessive of treats and toys. Neither got hurt in their dust-up, but Blue is still guarded around Ugg. I think he wants to try to prove to Ugg who is boss here, but has found that Uggs size needs to be respected. They do not play together any more, but when their paths cross as they wander, they are civil. There just can’t be any toys in the yard.
Ugg is easy-going and non-aggressive. His only issue is that he doesn’t realize how big and powerful he is, and he can scare the willies out of the smaller dogs when he tries to play with them. I’ll continue working with him on that as well as his self control when he gets excited. He’s going to be fine.
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Blue is a terrier mix. As such he is naturally excitable and energetic. Blue was found as a starving stray, so he most likely was deprived of attention as well as food. As a result, he can be overly enthusiastic, even demanding, in his response to people who offer to interact with him. Telling him, “No” does no good. What can we do to redirect him from accosting his handler? Try this.
Blue is still young. As he matures he will settle down some. Once he get settled into a permanent home he will become more confident about his relationship with his People. He IS a terrier, so we cannot expect him to ever be as calm and laid back as a Basset, but he will learn better behavior.
My task with him is to help him learn to restrain the urge to jump on and nip at me as a way of expressing his pleasure at seeing me. Once we get him past that, he will be adoptable and will make someone a happy, fun-filled little companion.
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Blue and Ugg are our “outside boys”. When Ugg arrived, Blue had already been here a couple of days and got lonely when no one else was outside.
When I first brought Ugg home, Blue growled at him and backed away. Maybe because Ugg is twice Blue’s size, maybe because Ugg stunk, maybe because I was with Ugg not Blue. Blue likes to be the center of attention.
It did not take long for Blue to change his mind about Ugg and they started hanging out close to their shared wall, getting to know one another.
Blue’s jealous/possessive trait kept them from playing in the yard together for several days, but we eventually got that worked out and they now enjoy spending their play periods in the yard together. They have worked out their pecking order: little Blue is the leader and Ugg is his stooge who happily follows him around like Pinky and The Brain.
Okay, maybe not *that* hard
Today was a hot one, and their mid-day play time was mostly spent laying in a patch of shady grass, because that’s what Blue said to do. In the afternoon we had a short, hard rain that came late enough to cool things off. Too early in the day and rain makes things tropical and sultry once the rain stops.
With the cooler temps and wet grass for the evening play session, Blue invented a new game: High Speed Follow the Leader.
The way it worked is that Ugg would be following Blue around as they sniffed. Without warning, Blue would bolt off at a run. Ugg rose to the challenge and tried to catch up. Blue is much more nimble than Ugg, and when Ugg caught him, Blue would execute a sharp turn — which he managed, but Ugg tended to slew around in a wide turn, if he didn’t lose traction all together and go down to slide on his side along the wet grass.
Blue clearly thought this was hilarious. Ugg continued to play along with the game, not appearing to be embarrassed or frustrated in the least. Indeed, he thought this was a fun game!
Blue would slow to a walk and they’d resume sniffing until Blue sprung another surprise departure on Ugg. Over and over they did this until both were winded and ready for their treats.
Blue indicated their readiness by going to the mailbox where I store outside treats, toys, and small equipment and nosed the door, “I’m ready for my snack, get us our cookies!”
Blue is a little bossy, but really cute. And smart!
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I spent just under four hours today making just over 1,000 peanut butter dog treats. Ostensibly these are for the Quilts and Canines event on the 15th of the month. In actuality, some will be needed elsewhere before then so I’ll have to make more next week.
The process of making these peanut butter treats left a large peanut butter jar empty. I like to give the empty jars to the outside dogs because they tend to miss out on a lot of treats the house dogs get. But today I decided to give it to Blondie Bear. She’s been feeling down.
There was a time when she and Cochise were the only house dogs. Occasionally a foster dog would earn enough Good Dog points to come in for housebreaking, but the vast majority of the time it was just the four of us and Cochise and Blondie got lots of attention from Marie and me. But then we adopted Josephine. And Buddy. And Callie. And Moonshine is an in-house foster dog. Blondie is pretty laid back and doesn’t get huffy when the others push in front of her to get the People attention. But it hurts her feelings. So I thought it might lift her spirits if I gave HER the peanut butter jar this time.
She was laying on the floor in the kitchen watching me work, everyone else was snoozing in the living room or the den. There should not be a big tussle as the others try to get it away from her.
I set the jar down beside her. She looked at it, looked at me, looked back at the jar. She licked tentatively at the rim and said as she stood up, “Too rich for me. I’m trying to watch my figure.” and walked away.
By now some of the others got wind of the fact that I gave her something that I did not give everyone else and came to investigate. First on the scene was Moonshine. At first she stood off about four feet, her glance darting around the room looking for the others. She glanced at me several times, judging whether that jar was fair game or if I would scold her is she approached. I just watched as I worked.
Josephine was creeping up on the scene from the other side of the table. Moonie decided it was now or never. She stepped up, still casting furtive glances, maybe deciding if this was a trap. It sure smelled GOOD! Josie was stepping closer, so Moonie lowered her head, ever so slowly, still glancing about, and took the rim of the jar gently in her teeth.
She paused, listening, glancing at me, glancing at Josephine, then slowly lifted the jar, turned, and tip-toed out of the room. Once she got into the hallway I heard her claws clickety-clacking rapidly down the tile floor to the bedroom.
I was cutting out treats and loading them on a tray while this was going on. Timing is important in this, especially when I’m doing multiple batches, so I had to keep going until it was time to put that tray in the oven. With that done I took a moment to slip back and make sure Moonshine wasn’t making a mess of the carpet.
She was lounging on a bed, thoroughly enjoying licking every morsel of peanut butter she could reach out of that jar.
As I came to the door she grinned at me, flapped her tail a few times, and stuck her nose back into the jar, tongue snaking out as far as it could to retrieve that peanutty goodness.
That thing kept her happily occupied most of the afternoon! I’m sorry Blondie wasn’t interested, but glad Moonshine enjoyed it. She has started her heartworm treatment and will be getting the injections soon. I’ll have to make sure I empty another peanut butter jar when she comes home from that.
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Both Ugg and Blue have been here for just over a week: Ugg for 8 days today, Blue for 10 days. Both came in with behavior issues. Ugg is a 70 pound Great Dane who still thinks he’s a 10 pound puppy. Blue is excitable too, but his major issue is jealousy and possessiveness.
Blue has been exhibiting this when I had the both of them in the yard at the same time. If Blue has a toy and Ugg comes to see what he has – not even trying to take it, just curious, Blue gets snarly and snappy with him. Same if I’m petting Blue and Ugg comes over. If I’m petting Ugg, Blue will come in and try to push Ugg – who is twice his size – out of the way and take over the affection fest.
It’s interesting that when they’re in their kennels, food and toys don’t seem to cause any issues. In fact I often find Blue’s toys in Ugg’s room, and the only way they could get there is if Blue is placing or holding them within Ugg’s reach.
When Blue acts out, it earns him an immediate and swift trip back to his kennel, where he stays for the rest of the play period, watching me play with Ugg. Lately I’ve been making sure the toys are put up before every joint play time. I’ve been working on getting Blue to take turns for my affection. He’s made strides in the past two days, and nearly every play session is now a joint session. That’s good because they both get doubled time in the yard this way.
Today they got hot from playing in the yard and decided to rest in the shade of my barn and watch me work in the garden.
Blue had found a yard bone and brought it with him. He wasn’t chewing on it, just sort of sitting on it.
I took a picture of them being good with my phone. My Handycam is out of commission right now. The phone makes a simulated shutter noise when it snaps a picture, and Blue hopped up to come over and see what that noise was. He left his bone behind.
Ugg reached over and snatched the bone.
When Blue went back to his place, the bone was missing and he started sniffing all around, looking for it, “My bone, my bone – where did my bone go?”
Then he saw Ugg chewing.
“Hey! Is that MY bone you’re chewing on.”
“Nah, I found this just laying around.”
“So, where’s MY bone?”
“Dunno.”
When Blue pushed in to check on that bone, I grabbed the hose and got ready for an altercation.
“That IS my bone. You stole my bone!”
“Nuh-uh. I found it. You didn’t have it, it was just laying there.”
Then Blue did something that really surprised me …
He said, “Meh — I don’t care. You can have it.” and went back to his spot and laid down!
WHAT A GOOD BOY!
I’m so proud of Little Boy Blue! That is a major step for him.
He got extra treats when it was time to go back to his room.
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A good deal of info has been posted to Facebook about Callie and her history by the people involved in her rescue. The following is my distillation of those accounts.
Callie was originally the family dog of a couple with kids. It appears Callie was kept pregnant much of the time and they sold the puppies. The couple split up and he left, leaving Callie and the kids with her. She claims Callie was his dog, and it seems she took out her feelings about this break-up on Callie, exiling her to existence outside the home, with little or no care.
The Mom and kids went away for 3 weeks, leaving Callie outside with no shelter, food or water. A gentleman who lives nearby took pity on Callie and started leaving food, water, and a blanket for her to lie on outside his door. When he passed away, his son came to clear out the house, found Callie and took her home with him. They fell in love with her.
Callie was pregnant and close to delivering. While Callie seemed gentle and calm, she did snap at the family’s Boston Terrier when he got too close once. The husband feared that their kids might get in the middle of a dog fight if they let her stay and took Callie to the Humane Society of Jefferson County.
Moonshine has been wanting to play with Blue. Today I let her try that out.
Blue came out of his kennel and bounced up to Moon Doggie, inviting her to come run with him. She grew wary and said something unfriendly. Little Boy Blue said, “Okay, okay…” and crept off by himself.
Blue found his favorite ropey toy. For a while he ran around flapping and tossing the toy, but it was getting warm out. He settled in to do some quiet gnawing.
He paid no mind to Moonshine at all.
Moonshine, on the other hand, spent this whole time watching Blue play, from a distance, but totally intrigued. I think she regretted rebuffing him earlier. She was finding that he could be a fun playmate after all.
In time, Blue decided to try saying “howdy” again. This time Moonie was cool: they sniffed each other and got acquainted. They didn’t actually play today, but they got along until Blue decided he was ready to go back to his room and get his treat.
Blue behaves much the same way when he’s out with Blondie Bear or Josephine. He wants to play, but won’t press the issue if his invitation is turned down. That is a good boy!
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Ugg and Blue got their baths and nail trimming this afternoon. I find that right after their bath is the best time to trim nails. Having been defeated by my making them all wet, even the toughest dog knuckles under and says, “Fine, do whatever you want to me.”
Afterwards I put a lead on each and took them out in the play yard together for the first time.
I kept hold of Ugg’s lead for a while because I figured if either was going to get out of control, it would be this big rowdy boy. But Ugg did fine and eventually I dropped his lead and let them play without my being an anchor, slowing Ugg down.
I’m the boss, come with me.
Blue immediately seized on the opportunity to mess with Ugg by grabbing up the lead that was dragging along behind him and attempted to force Ugg to go with him.
What a brazen little boy! Ugg weighs three times what he does.
Blue kept insisting on playing that little prank, so eventually I took the lead off Ugg. If Blue wanted to lead someone he’d have to lead himself … and he has done that (pick up his own lead and walk around with it in his mouth) quite a few times!
The two of them wandered off together. Neither showed any interest in playing, but they enjoyed one another’s company.
Eventually Blue found a ropey toy, showed it to Ugg and ran off. Ugg accepted the challenge, but when he got near Blue, Blue turned nasty and started snarling and snapping at Ugg. Ugg was shocked.
I snagged Blue and whisked him immediately and unceremoniously back to his kennel, where he stayed while Ugg and I finished up our play session. Dogs who can’t play together can’t play at all. He will get a solo play time later, but he’s done with group play for today. Tomorrow he may try again. When he learns to control that greediness he’ll be a happier, and better behaved, boy.
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Callie has been through a rough time but is as sweet as can be. Abandoned by her original family, rescued by a kind-hearted soul, then brought to the Humane Society of Jefferson County (now C.A.R.E.), Callie quickly became a staff favorite. Testing positive for heartworms can be a death sentence for a shelter dog: treatment is expensive and requires a calm environment and close supervision, which are not available in most shelters. But this was not to be the case for Callie: the shelter staff made magic happen for her.
Last updated: March 6, 2020
To see what adventures Callie has had since then, Click Here to pull up a list.
Base Info:
Date of arrival: December 29th, 2017
Breed: Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Sex: Female
Age: 8 years
Weight: Approx 65 pounds
Spayed: Yes
General Health: Good except for being heartworm positive. Treatment for that is why she’s here at Piney Mountain Foster. That’s our specialty.
After treatment, she’s doing GREAT!
Temperament: Extra sweet, gentle, and loving. A great sense of humor!
History
A good deal of info has been posted to Facebook about Callie and her history. The following is my distillation of those accounts. You may read the original texts in the comments at the bottom of this page.
Callie was originally the family dog of a couple with kids. It appears Callie was kept pregnant much of the time and they sold the puppies. The couple split up and he left, leaving Callie and the kids with her. She claims Callie was his dog, and it seems she took out her feelings about this break-up on Callie, exiling her to existence outside the home.
The Mom and kids went away for 3 weeks, leaving Callie outside with no shelter, food or water. A gentleman who lives nearby took pity on Callie and started leaving food, water, and a blanket for her to lie on outside his door. When he passed away, his son came to clear out the house, found Callie and took her home with him. They fell in love with her.
Callie was pregnant and close to delivering. While Callie seemed gentle and calm, she did snap at the family’s Boston Terrier when he got too close once. The husband feared that their kids might get in the middle of a dog fight if they let her stay and took Callie to the Humane Society of Jefferson County.
H.S.J.C. (now C.A.R.E.) placed Callie with one of their long-time foster homes until Callie’s puppies were delivered and weaned. They had no incidents, indeed they loved her.
Once Callie came back to H.S.J.C. to seek adoption, she tested positive for heartworms. Being a “pit bull”, seven years old, and H.W. positive could have been her “three strikes: you’re out” that would send her to the euthanasia room. But because everyone loved her so much, members of the shelter staff determined to save her. Donors were contacted for the funds needed to pay for her H.W. treatment and Marie and I agreed to foster her through recovery.
This is what rescue is about: people working together, each doing what we can, to save the lives of abandoned or abused furbabies like Callie.
Known Issues & Progress
Callie has obviously littered several times. For all she’s been through, her temperament is surprisingly gentle and trusting.
Callie is heartworm positive, but the test was just slightly positive. We hoped to use a slow-kill method of treatment that will be less risky for an older dog. After seven months of treatment she is still testing positive. Slow kill *can* take up to two YEARS to clear a dog of heartworms. No one wants her to wait that long to find a forever home, so we’re starting the regular heartworm treatment process.
Housebreaking
Both former care-givers say she is already reliably housebroken. We too find this to be the case. No work to do here!
Gets Along With Other Dogs
Yes. She has already met all my dogs, large and small, and she has no trouble with any of them. Even Ricky (who barked menacingly at her when she arrived) has decided she’s a sweetheart and wants to play. Callie never returned menace for menace, generally just retreated and hid.
In the past week Callie has begun engaging in play: mostly with Josephine but sometimes with Blondie and occasionally she’ll try Cochise. She and Josie get pretty rough sometimes, but Josie instigates that.
People Skills
Callie is exceptionally loving, trusting, and affectionate. She likes to snuggle. She’s great with adults and kids. She desperately wants to be with people who will return her love.
A former caretaker’s daughter went to stay with her friend all weekend. When she came home Callie couldn’t stop loving on her and wagging that tail.
For the first couple of weeks, Callie was my shadow. She went everywhere I went: and ONLY where I went. Even when she needed to go outside to relieve herself, she would not leave the porch unless I went out to the yard with her. This was uncomfortable at 2:00 in the morning with me in just my PJs and 20 some-odd degree temps outside. In the last few days she has become comfortable enough to consider herself part of the “gang” and has been running outside with the other dogs, leaving me in the house. She no longer follows me everywhere, including the bathroom, but she does like to know exactly where I am at all times.
Miscellaneous
I have found Callie to be quite bright and eager to please, that makes her easy to train. She has learned our daily routine, and a few commands.
Yesterday I had Callie in the play yard. It was cold. The leash I use to move her from the bunk house to the play yard was looped in one hand as I watched her. When she had taken care of business and wanted to go back where it is warm, she walked up and slipped her head through the loop of the leash and looked up at me, “I’m ready to go in now. May we please go?” What a sweetie! She has since graduated to House Dog.
Callie became a Steele Away Home dog on January 20th because we were concerned about the length of time it was taking to get her treatment started. Slow kill is safe to do only if you catch it early. Julie at HSJC agreed and transferred her to us.
Just as we were ready to begin the Immiticide injections, Cedarwood Veterinary tested her to confirm a HW+ condition and the test came back NEGATIVE. We repeated the test to be sure, but Callie is clear of heartworms! We started her on a monthly preventative to keep her that way and thanked God that she did not have to go through the normal treatment.
Diet
4health Salmon and Potato kibble until March, 2020, then Southern States Naturals Lamb & Rice kibble.
In roughly chronological order, newest at the bottom. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Some pictures are linked to Doggy Tales about Callie, click those to open the related story.
Callie’s original home: a window well!
Callie says, I LIKE this chair! Taken at a former home.
All snuggled in! Taken at a former home.
The Girls all go on a potty run together. Callie sports her new outer wear that helps ward off the cold.
Callie wants to help edit the video I’m working on.
But she can be bribed with sufficient amounts of cush.
There is a story to go with this: click da pic to read it.
Callie joins the “Around the table gang”
Looking MIGHTY comfortable now!
Callie earns bedroom sleeping privileges.
Yummm … may I have some of THAT?
Oops, BUSTED! No dogs on the sofa, and she knows it. But who could be angry with this face?
Callie and her friend Buddy are ardent sun worshipers.
Callie: Sun Puppy
Callie says, “Ears up girls.” Blondie says, “Okay.” Josie says,”Hey, no fair!”
Weasel Hunter! (click me video)
“In the Mood” to play (and dance) Video
Who — me? NO, I wasn’t wrestling with this blanket.
Callie and Rainy peaceably share space at treat time.
Tell me a bedtime story?
I ask, “Who wants to go outside with me”? (vid)
Callie loves her new ropey toy (vid)
Callie LOVES truck-riding! Especially up front.
Callie and Josie are bestest buds!
I have a BOOOONE!
Sitting like a lady
Callie tries negotiating with Rebel.
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To see what adventures Callie has had since then, Click Here to pull up a list.
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Arrival date: August 24th, 2018
We’re on our third Kuranda dog bed for Ugg. The first one I ordered was too small. The second was framed in all PVC and he chewed up a corner piece. Kuranda sent replacement parts (aluminum top caps for all four legs, but while we were waiting for those he chewed up more parts.
