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Dune Steele: Foster Notes

Dune was without a doubt the most difficult such case I’ve encountered to date.

He came to PMFC from the Friends Animal Shelter because he was SO wild and rambunctious no one there could do anything with him. He was not mean, but so enthusiastically playful that he scratched skin tore clothes, broke jewelry, even ripped out an earring once!  And he would not be deterred.  So he came to Piney Mountain.

At one point I almost gave up on him.  But I relented and I’m glad I did.  He went on to Eleventh Hour rescue where he became an Agility Training star and was eventually adopted.

The following articles mention Dune.  All other details (of which there were many) were lost in a mishap while moving this web site.

The Dune Decision: Crisis Point in Foster Care

Our latest foster dog departure was Dune. Most of the dogs we get are sick and in need of intensive care and recovery. Dune was quite healthy, but had serious behavioral problems. He was not mean, but he was so energetic and unruly that no one could work with him. Volunteers at the shelter tried […]

Validation of Why We Do Canine Foster Care

As of January 2017 we have fostered 38 dogs in 4½ years. That’s not an astounding number: I know many people who foster several times our annual average. Sometimes they have 6 or 8 dogs at a time, we generally have two or three (plus our two). But we take in the hard cases. We […]

Blondie Bear and the 50 Strays of Grey Contest

Over the past weekend I entered each of our current 5 dogs (all rescues through the Dr.Carol Hood Memorial Animal Shelter) into the Rescue Pups 50 Strays of Grey photo contest by selecting a photo of each that best represents the personality of that dog. On Monday I was greeted by the following notice on […]

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Piney Mountain Foster Care is a small, all volunteer, non-profit kennel facility located on 4 acres of mountainside property in Edwina Tennessee. We got our start in 2012 by caring for dogs going through heartworm treatment.  We still do this and other medical care.  We also work with dogs with behavioral issues.  But we are […]

Lupa: Foster Dog

Lupa is a loopy little gal, but quite sweet and compliant.  She loves to run and play, but she learned to be a good house dog quickly and went on to be adopted after she was healed.

10 Tips For Crate Training Your Dog

Originally published November 21, 2014 When used properly, crate training provides you and your dog with multiple benefits. For you it provides a simple, effective means of restricting your dog when you cannot provide close supervision. If your dog is an explorer, he may get into things that will harm him. If she’s a chewer, […]

Blondie Bear: Escape Artist

Originally published Nov. 29, 2014 A report from Cochise on Blondie Bear: The day after Thanksgiving, there was great excitement in the neighborhood: a UPS truck was parked out front AND a stray dog was running up and down the road all at the same time! Smokey and Lupa were barking and carrying on, other […]

The New Chewie

Cochise and Blondie were adopted years ago and are full time members of our family who live in our home. They are very good dogs. So good that we give them toys and chewies to occupy them when they are inside (and not sleeping). Blondie has a whole basket of them on the fireplace hearth. […]

Cochise’s Monster

It was November 1st. Yesterday’s rain had turned to snow: we had a couple of inches on the ground when I got up just before 5:00. Normally Cochise gets up when I do and comes out to keep me company in the living room where I will study for an hour or so. Not today. […]

Still in Infirmary Mode

It is chilly and rainy today: a great day to stay in, snuggle up, and light a little fire in the fireplace … just to take the chill off. We are still in infirmary mode: NiceLady is doing a little better but still feeling pretty poorly, so Blondie and I are taking care of her. […]

Smokey Eunuch: Foster Notes

Smokey is a sweet playful fellow with markings like an Orca whale. Unfortunately all but this photo and all the details on his stay with us crashed and burned as we flew them through cyberspace to relocate them. These articles mention Smokey and survived the move: Search Results for: Smokey Dog Bath Day: When and […]

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Piney Mountain Foster Care is a small, all volunteer, non-profit kennel facility located on 4 acres of mountainside property in Edwina Tennessee. We got our start in 2012 by caring for dogs going through heartworm treatment.  We still do this and other medical care.  We also work with dogs with behavioral issues.  But we are […]

Intensive Care for Cheyanne

The Dogtor is in

Today Cheyanne went in for her final step in the medication for heart worm treatment: the second injection deep into her back muscles. The vet tech tells me that these injections are not very painful, so the dog is not sedated for each procedure, but the aftermath is. Cheyanne is in enough pain now that they sent some medication for that as well. Not all dogs require that, but Cheyanne is “delicate”. She’s more sensitive to cold than the rest as well.

Cheyanne, nice warm shirtIt’s cold today: 12° this morning, 22° as a high. After spending the day in the intensive care room at the shelter for her procedure and observation, I put her in an old Tee shirt when she came home and needed some leg stretching time. She seemed to appreciate that. She appreciated getting the breakfast she was deprived of this morning even more.

She seemed dazed and disoriented. She spent a long time just sitting on the boardwalk. It is not at all like her to be so still. When I called her to come inside where it’s warm, she turned and went to her dog house instead. “It’s too cold for that sweetie.” I had to carry her inside. I put an extra blanket in her crate for added cushioning on her sore little body. She curled up and went to sleep.

Marie and I decided it would be best to put Cheyanne into intensive care for a couple of days to be sure she was OK. Blondie and Cochise agreed and gave permission for her to sleep in their house for a couple of nights.

Cheyanne

Cheyanne is a really sweet girl who had a rough time with her heartworm treatment.  But she got through it and went on to be adopted into a great family.

Intensive Care for Cheyanne

Today Cheyanne went in for her final step in the medication for heart worm treatment: the second injection deep into her back muscles. The vet tech tells me that these injections are not very painful, so the dog is not sedated for each procedure, but the aftermath is. Cheyanne is in enough pain now that […]

More About Doug

Allan Douglas Allan Douglas was the pen name used by Douglas Allan Bittinger as a freelance writer in writing newspaper & magazine articles and web content on a variety of subjects from woodworking, to computers, from parenting to robotics. There are few topics that he could not write about. He went on to write several […]

Food Guarding In Dogs and How To Deal With It

Dogs tend to protect or “guard” things they feel are most important to them, things they feel they can’t do without. Some will guard toys, some food, some will “guard” or become vicious when others approach their people. Guarding is rarely a desirable trait. Food guarding is dangerous to other dogs and to the people […]

Piney Mountain Foster Care

Marie and I have been providing canine foster care to dogs since June of 2012. We find it to be a very rewarding experience. Some posts to this blog promote animal fostering, offer training tips and cover canine health issues. I will post the stories about our foster dogs, articles about what we’ve learned as […]

Hercules

Hercules is a Boxer mix on loan through the Foster Dog Program at Newport Animal Shelter. He tested positive for heart worms and was taken off the adoptable list. We’re trying to change that and help him get a loving forever home. When it’s cold, our foster dogs sleep in crates in my heated workshop. […]

Rhonda: Queen of the Hill

Having finished the weekly radio radio program I produce first thing every Monday, I took The Kids on a walk and went past the mailbox to send the program disk out to the radio station. Then we went up to the shop yard for some play time with Cheyanne and Rhonda. Cochise refused to go […]

Malachi: Foster Dog

Malachi is an unusual dog.  Highly energetic, very talkative, and when he barks, he sounds like a turkey gobbling.  He’s so funny! Search Results for: Malachi Speak! Do Dogs Talk? Understanding Dog-speak Posted on: August 3, 2019 by: DougB Comments: Leave a comment Originally published Feb. 14, 2017 When us dogs talk, most of what […]

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Piney Mountain Foster Care is a small, all volunteer, non-profit kennel facility located on 4 acres of mountainside property in Edwina Tennessee. We got our start in 2012 by caring for dogs going through heartworm treatment.  We still do this and other medical care.  We also work with dogs with behavioral issues.  But we are […]

 

Jim: Foster Dog

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Jim has a penchant for standing in tall grass.  His brindle coloring does a great job of camouflaging him!

Giving

As a small 501(c)(3) Public Charity, Piney Mountain Foster Care depends on private individuals and small businesses who are willing to join us in our mission more than any other source.  By donating to our General Operations you buy nutritious food, healthy snacks, and provide comfortable and safe accommodation to our foster dogs.  Your gifts […]

Jasper Goes Houdini on Us

Jasper got out of his pen and ran off. He was gone about 4 hours. HairyFace went out to track him down (on foot). That was doomed to failure, but Jasper did get returned safely. This story has a happy ending, let’s state that right up front. Hairy wasn’t sure how he got out, but […]

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Piney Mountain Foster Care is a small, all volunteer, non-profit kennel facility located on 4 acres of mountainside property in Edwina Tennessee. We got our start in 2012 by caring for dogs going through heartworm treatment.  We still do this and other medical care.  We also work with dogs with behavioral issues.  But we are […]

Faith: The Sad Tale of a Foster Dog

Faith was an exceptionally sweet, affectionate dog.  She was very calm and gentle.  And beautiful. We fell in love with her right away and were considering adopting her as a companion for Cochise.

She was heartworm positive.  They knew that, but delayed getting her started on treatment.  When she finally arrived she hadn’t been here long. I went in one morning to get her out of her crate and found she had passed in the night.  It was a very sad time.

Dolly

Awakened in the night by the need to urinate, I slide my legs over the edge of the bed. Instinctively I glance down, looking for the black and white blur, in my myopic vision, of Dolly’s sleeping form in the dim glow of the hallway nightlight. Dolly has taken to sleeping next to the bed. This started during storms; rain makes her nervous, thunder terrifies her and she seeks solace by snuggling up next to the bed where I can drape an arm over and scratch her ears. Lately she starts out sleeping on her snuggle bed in the corner of the bedroom, but after we’ve gone to sleep slinks over and curls up as close to me as she can get.