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Kringle Steele: Notes on a foster dog

Kringle is energetic and can empty a bowl of kibble faster than anyone I’ve seen.

Last updated: Mar. 10, 2018

Base Info:

  • Arrival date: February 16, 2018
  • Breed: Boxer Mix
  • Sex: Female
  • Age: 2-3 years
  • Weight: 45 Pounds
  • Spay/Neutered: Yes: March 12, 2018
  • General Health: Good
  • Temperament: Good

History

Kringle was picked up by Newport Animal Control as a stray. She was held, but no owner came to claim her. No one was willing to adopt either and she was in danger of being put down, so N.A.C. called Steele Away Home and asked us to take her. We needed to board her at Cedarwood Veterinary Hospital until a foster home became available. Cedarwood also treated her for a bad case of worms.

Known Issues & Progress

Kringle is excitable and effervescent when first let out of her pen, but it takes only a short time of running and playing for her to calm down and be enjoyable to work with. With a little training she should become a good companion.

People Skills

Kringle is high energy at first, but she calms down and is a sweet gal. Obedient too, she’s learning her commands.

Gets Along With Other Dogs

Good. She got to play with Josephine, got too rough, Josie told her to back off … and she did: calmed right down, then walked away to find something else to do (video below)

Kringle has been in the yard with all the house dogs, no issues with any of them.

Kringle and Lucy got a play time together (video below).

Miscellaneous

Kringle is gentle on her bedding.

Gallery

In roughly chronological order, newest at the bottom. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Some pictures are linked to Doggy Tales about Kringle, click those to open the related story or video.

Josie is not sure about playing with Kringle

Kringle comes on too strong for Josie’s comfort. (video)

Enjoying sunshine and a chew toy.

If you let me inside, I’ll let you play with my toy.

Kringle got a Coolaroo for her pen.

Kringle and Sasha get a play date (video)

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Mystery Steele: Notes on a foster dog

Mystery is a chocolate lab, husky mix, but she is definitely a Husky in build and personality. If you like the quirky, independent personality of this breed, you’ll love Mystery.

Last updated: February 12, 2018

Base Info:

  • Arrived here: January 11th, 2018
  • Breed: Chocolate Husky
  • Sex: Female
  • Age: Approx 2 years
  • Weight: Approx 60 pounds
  • Spay/Neutered: Yes: Feb 9, 2017
  • General Health: Good. Other than being in need of a good brushing, her fur, skin and teeth look to be in good shape. I see no sign of injury or disease.
  • Temperament: Good. She is lovey and affectionate with people. Accepting of strangers. She plays well with our other dogs now: was a bit guarded when she first arrived due to kennel stress.

History

Mystery was picked up as a stray and taken to Newport Animal Control in November 2017. Because Huskies do not do well in close confinement, she became stressed, depressed, and aggressive. N.A.C. management asked Steele Away Home to take her in so she could get out of that environment and regain her sanity.

Known Issues & Progress

Mystery is a Husky. Huskies have a personality all their own. I’ve worked with Huskies in a shelter environment before and they do NOT do well in close confinement. It’s heartbreaking to see how fast this spirited, independent breed sinks into depression when incarcerated. That was the case with Mystery. She came to Piney Mountain because we have a large, fenced play yard and big pens for our fosters to live in until they can begin house training.

Upon arrival (yesterday), she was fine with me: friendly and obedient, but when other dogs came near her pen she would bare her teeth and charge the fencing to warn them off. Some of them did not take too kindly to that attitude!

I’ve given her several solo play sessions in the yard – which she enjoys immensely — and she is calming down already.

After a few weeks she is able to play with the other dogs in the yard. She’s a bit too rowdy for Josephine’s taste (Josie is our smallest) but she’s not being mean, just big and bouncy.

Housebreaking

Doing well. There have been no incidents in the bunkhouse. Even when in her pen, she will avoid defiling her 10′ x10′ space as long as I let her out regularly. She usually needs to run a couple of laps to get her bowels moving … then slams on the brakes and assumes the position. She’s funny.

When I’ve got her loose in the bunkhouse she has not shown any tendency to chew things up or get into things. She’s curious, but not invasive.

Gets Along With Other Dogs

Not so good at the start, but that changed as she felt less stressed.

After a few days to decompress, Mystery wanted to play with her roomie: Angel. That went well. She and angel have had several play sessions together (see vids below).

Mystery HAS become possessive of my attentions and will warn off other dogs if I’m in her pen with her. If I’m in the yard with both her and another dog, there are no issues. She also shows food-guarding behavior with dogs — not with me.

People Skills

Very good. She is friendly and comes when called. She does not jump up on me (much) and she walks well on a tether/leash. She has had some training before.

It got to a point where when leash-walking her between Bunkhouse and play yard she’d be dragging me along. I put her in a Walk-Right! ™ harness and that cleared up right away. Then, one night, she chewed the harness off. I’ve ordered another, but in the mean time she is responding better to a “slow” command and tug on the collar-mounted leash. She learned and remembers even without the harness.

I got the harness, but don’t need it. Mystery now walks very well on a leash and collar.

Miscellaneous

Mystery is a typical Husky, and as such can be more of a handful to manage than most other breeds. Huskies tend to be highly intelligent, deviously clever, independent thinkers, and OPINIONATED. They are also hilariously entertaining and devoted family dogs. To manage a Husky, you need firm boundaries and a good routine. Let a Husky decide she’s in charge of the household and you’ll have a frustrating challenge on your hands.

I brush her daily and she’s looking much better. She loves the brushing too. She talks to me constantly while I’m doing it. That is SO cute!

Feb 12: After a dog gets fixed I like to take them for a “just for fun” truck ride so they don’t come t think that getting in the truck means someone is going to cut parts off them.

Today I had errands to run, so I took Mystery Steele with me: she was spayed last Friday but is feeling better now. She was not at all hesitant, hopped right up into the truck and settled herself on the passenger seat. She rides really well!

One of my stops was Tractor Supply Co. in Newport. She went in with me and did a superb job of staying right beside me, never pulling on the leash, never toying with products, never having to be coaxed to come along, quite calm when I stopped to speak to a store employee. I was SO proud of her! We even met a Weimaraner puppy who was a bit bouncy and overly friendly, but both did well and were quite civil to one another.

Gallery

In roughly chronological order, newest at the bottom. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Some pictures are linked to Doggy Tales about Mystery, click those to open the related story or video.


Looking better after a good brushing

Wanna Play?

Mystery has a great sense of humor.

This girl can really run — and loves it!

The next day I let Mystery and her roomie, Angel, out to play in the snow:

Mystery and Angel get a long play day in especially nice weather.

Mystery has decided to challenge Blondie for the Grand Dame position. (click-vid)

Mystery likes to munch and wander at breakfast time (click-vid)

Enjoying a Big Bone

She rides well. Calm. Sometimes needs petting to reassure her all is well.

Definitely a husky, such a derp!

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Ellie Mae: Notes On A Rescue Dog

Ellie has had kind of a tough row to hoe over the past few months. We don’t know what her life was like before, but mid-summer she showed up at the home of a local resident: Deb. Deb did the responsible thing and tried to get her back together with her family — except no one ever came forward to claim her. But Ellie is a sweet, gentle girl, so Deb hung onto her.

After a while that got to be inconvenient. Mostly because Ellie chased her cat and the cat never came back. Hound dog, small furry creature that runs; maybe not the best combo.

When the local animal shelter re-opened, Deb took Ellie down there. A shelter employee decided to take Ellie home because her husband hunts coons. But they found out that THIS hound don’t hunt, (at least not for him) so Ellie came back to the shelter.

The shelter contacted Amy (our intake person) and asked if Steele Away Home -Canine Foster and Rescue could help find Ellie Mae a new home.

Roscoe: Police Dog Wannabe

Roscoe is a large, powerful “pit bull” who has been a long time resident of Newport Animal Control (Tennessee). Because of breed specific prejudice, “pit bull” type dogs are often less adoptable than other breeds. Although this is completely undeserved.

Roscoe’s presence here is different from most dogs we care for because he continues to reside at N.A.C. but comes here for Day Camp sessions to be evaluated and trained for application to the Universal K9 program, which trains “pit bulls” to be police dogs and is funded by the Animal Farm Foundation, Inc.

When I first met Roscoe, I have to say, he was frightening.

Booker Da Brindle-Boxer Steele

  • Intake: 09/18/2017
  • From: Newport Animal Control
    (held there since early July)
  • Age: 1 year (approx.)
  • Weight: approx. 75 lbs

This fit young fellow is energetic, adventurous and up for anything. He’s ready to join your active lifestyle.

Among his favorite things are peeing on inanimate objects, truck riding, and playing with friends. He dislikes snooty folks who won’t pet him (that would be people: he has yet to meet a dog he didn’t like).

Booker is available for adoption through Steele Away Home – Canine Foster and Rescue.

Nutmeg Steele: Notes on a Foster Dog

Nutmeg Steele arrived today.

She appears to be a Black & Tan Hound. She is as sweet as can be.

We were told she’s 3 years old. The vet at her spaying said 6 months. Jen and I think more like just under a year.

She gets along with other dogs, she gets along with cats, not so good with chickens, and she rides well. We’re told she’s a “gate climber”, but we’re not sure what that means. She’ll be on a long lead when in the yard until we know if she’ll be going “over the wall” at her first opportunity. She is a little timid at first with people, but warms up quickly and becomes affectionate. Did I mention that she’s really sweet? This Nutmeg is sweet as sugar.

Shiloh Steele: Notes On a Rescue Dog

Shiloh arrived here on the evening of July 28th, 2017. I picked her up from the mobile spay/neuter clinic after her surgery. Fortunately I used a large transport box for this because it took hours before she was able to stand and walk about on her own. I have a loading dock on my workshop, so I just slid the box from the back of my pick-up onto the dock and into the workshop and let her rest until she was ready.

Shiloh’s Backstory

Julian Notes On a Rescue Dog

When I first met Julian, he was sitting in an outside pen at the Humane Society where I work. He was a mess.

Julian had been picked up by animal control because a resident called to report a dog fight. I don’t have details about exactly what happened or what became of the other dog, but Julian got chewed up pretty badly, especially his head. We were giving him antibiotics to fight infection and help his wounds heal.

He was sitting, with his feet all bunched up, on a yellow toilet seat cover. Someone gave us a bunch of them to use as comfies — we use them mostly for cats in their wall crates. But here was this brown, 60 pound boxer bunched up on this woolly toilet seat cover like it was the best thing in the world: an oasis of comfort in an otherwise miserable existence. It was funny and heart breaking at the same time.

Over the weeks, Julian began to mend and he proved to be gentle and friendly when we worked with him.

Then we tested him for heartworm … and the test came up positive. Our boss wasn’t surprised: Julian had obviously been neglected and allowed to run loose. It was no shock to find he was not on a preventative. She said the best thing to do was to put him down. With his scars and the HW+ there was no way he was going to get adopted, and we don’t have the facilities to treat his HW anyway.

I could not let this precious boy be killed: and at this point, he was, literally, just minutes away from going under The Needle.

Ilo Steele: Notes On A Rescue Dog

This is a foster dog diary post. New information about Ilo will be added to the end of this post so all info on this dog is in one place and in chronological order.
Post last updated: April 10, 2017

Ilo arrived March 7th. That name is spelled eye – ell – oh, and pronounced “Ee-low”. Ilo is a white Husky with blue eyes, he is around 1 year old and weighs (guessing here) around 50 pounds. He appears to be in good health.

Ilo’s History

Ilo was adopted locally as a puppy. He spent most of his life on a chain in the yard. He didn’t even have a collar: they just wrapped the chain around his neck and fastened it. As a result he has a gray band around his neck that will be difficult to remove. In time, that hair will shed out, so it will go away. Eventually.

One of our rescue families talked that family into surrendering him. Ilo is here for evaluation and training. His shots are current. He will be heartworm tested when he goes in for neutering on the 17th.
NOTE: That test came back negative, so he is now on a HW preventative to keep him safe.

Valentina Steele: Notes on a rescue dog

This is a foster dog diary post. Updates will be added to the end of this post to keep all information on Valentina in one place and in chronological order.

This post was last updated March 23, 2017

Valentina Fast Facts

  • Intake date: February 14, 2017
  • Breed: English Blue Tick Hound (likely full-blooded)
  • Sex: Female – unspayed, has welped at least a couple of times.
  • Age: ?? Young ??
  • Intake weight: 47 pounds.
  • Health: Fair. 20 pounds underweight and severely dehydrated at intake, but no other issues apparent. Valentina was innoculated and wormed at intake.
  • Temperament: Gentle, submissive, friendly.

Valentina’s History

Valentina was found, immobile, alongside a local road. The woman who found her scooped her up, put her in the car, took her home, and cared for her for a day or two. Valentina had no collar. That’s when Steele Away Home – Canine Foster and Rescue was called in to help her.