Sonny Specklefoot

Posted on: March 26, 2022 by: DougB

Last updated on July 22, 2022

History

Sonny was one of three dogs taken in by Piney Mountain Foster in an emergency situation to keep them from being shot by a “neighbor” whose rabbits were killed and he accused these three. Sonny and his litter mate, Cher, behaved in a bonded manner with Cher taking the dominant roll and Sonny the recessive. He was very shy and reclusive until Cher moved on. He has since blossomed with a personality of his own.

Base Info

Arrival date: Feb 18, 2022
Breed: Hound/Labrador
Sex: Male
Age: Young adult
Birthdate: @ April 2021
Weight: 54.4 pounds
Spayed/Neutered: Yes
General Health: Excellent
Temperament: Shy but sweet. Food-centric.
SAFER Test performed: No
Departure date: July 12,2022

Adoption Information

Adopted

Sonny has been adopted (July 21, 2022)

Progress Summary

Detailed notes may be available below photo gallery.

Relational Behavior

Relates well to other dogs: Yes, plays well with male and female dogs.
Can eat food/treats near other dogs: No – will steal food from other dog.
Preferred style of play: Loves to run/chase/bump, but will also engage in gentle mouth wrestling with a friend.
Is affectionate: Yes in a shy way.
Is good with:
. Men: Yes
. Women: Yes
. Children: Yes
. Cats: Unknown
Jumps up on people: Not so far
Mouths: No, unless you have food/treat in your hand.
Walks well on a leash: Yes, most of the time. Gets balky if scared.

Commands

Comes when called: Yes
Sits on command: Yes
Down / Off: Yes
Shake / Paw: Not yet
Kennels on command: Yes, with a bribe/treat

House Dog Training

Willingly enters his crate: Yes. He LOVES his crate and blanket.
Is calm/quiet while in crate: Yes unless you’re fixing food.
Understands going outside to potty: Keeps his crate clean, not yet reliable while loose indoors.
Alerts me of need to go outside: Yes
Is destructive of bedding and/or toys: Not initially, has begun chewing his blanket at night.
Engages in kitchen counter cruising: Yes. He’ll be on top of your fridge if there’s food up there!
Stays off people furniture: Undetermined, don’t have furniture in The Guest Cottage yet.

Photo Gallery

Calla Lily Steele: Notes on a foster dog

Posted on: November 13, 2018 by: Doug

This is Calla Lily. Her Mom called her Lily, or Li-Li (lee lee). She’s a yellow Lab mix, and an affectionate, playful girl.

Last updated: Nov 9, 2018

Base Info:

Arrival date: Oct. 20, 2018
Breed: Yellow Lab mix
Sex: Female
Age: ~~Young~~, Adult, ~~Mature~~, ~~Senior~~
Weight: 35 Pounds (as of 10/12/18)
Spay/Neutered: Yes
General Health: Good
Temperament: Rowdy but friendly.
Gets Along with Dogs: Yes
Gets Along with People: Yes
Housebroken/Crate Trained: Yes
Departure date: Nov. 9th, 2018

History

Lily’s mom adopted her from a shelter at 4 months of age in January of 2018. Lily had some health problems, but came through them. As she grew, Lily became too strong and rowdy for Mom to handle and she made the hard decision to surrender her to Steele Away Home so Lily could get the training she needs and go to a permanent home. It was a tearful parting.

Known Issues & Progress

She’s rowdy. Needs self-control and obedience training.

She knows, “Come”, “Sit”, and “In your room”.

Lily has proven to be quite bright and has learned all her basic commands. She also knows that when she’s done pottying and playing in the yard, she gets a treat to go back in her kennel. So when she’s decided she’s done, she runs into her kennel and sits on her bed to signal me that it’s time to bring her a treat. Who’s training who here? 🙂

She has calmed down quite a bit.

She walks well on a leash for me, but gives Marie a hard time.

As long as she it let out regularly, she is good to her bedding. If she gets frustrated, her bedding suffers!

Medical

DHPP: 01/12/2018, 02/03/2018, by White Pine Veterinary (WPV)
DHLPP:02/24/2018 by WPV
Bordatella: 02/24/2018, 10/13/2018 by WPV
Wormed: 01/12/2018 by WPV (tested since: NEGATIVE)
Rabies: 02/24/2018 (1 year booster) by WPV
Spay/Neuter: 04/24/2018 by WPV (also repaired umbilical hernia)
Flea/Tick preventative: ???
Heartworm preventative: ???
Heartworm Test: 05/11/2018 – NEGATIVE by WPV

Gallery

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

A pretty girl strutting her stuff.	Spectacular eyes!	On Point

Lily and Ugg play together for 1st time. (video)	Lily does Come, Sit and In your room (video)	Lily and Josephine get a play day (video)
.	“I’m ready for my treat now!” (video)	.

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Charlie & Joey Steele: Foster dog notes

Posted on: March 18, 2017 by: Doug

This is a foster dog diary post. New information will be added to the end of this post so all info is kept in one place and in chronological order.

Last Updated: March 27, 2017

Charlie and Joey’s History

My name is Charlie and I have a story to tell you.

My brother, Joey, and I are young: not even 8 months old. I lived in a pen with two male dogs, one of them my brother.

We didn’t have food bowls. The people who took care of us threw food on the ground for us to compete over. We had minimal shelter and our bellies hurt because we had worms. Nobody gave us any love and little attention. They only looked at us from far away. They never opened the pen or cleaned it. Some would say it was disgusting, but it was all we had known.

Blondie Bear

Posted on: September 23, 2014 by: DougB Comments: 4 Comments

Blondie Bear was the second foster dog we adopted. Cochise was our first. He was our first foster dog and our first “foster failure” (meaning we could not give him up). Blondie was our fifth foster dog and second foster failure. But this time, it wasn’t entirely our fault: Cochise talked us into it. Cochise just loved Blondie and wanted very much for us to keep her.

Cochise is a mentor in our foster dog program; he helps us teach the fosters civilized behavior. He was involved with all three dogs between them, and he was quite fond of Curry, but his attachment to Blondie was evident to all. Maybe he knew what a rough road she had traveled.

Blondie had been taken in by Newport Animal Control. She had been found chained in the back of someone’s yard. She was so severely neglected that they thought at first she was mentally damaged: she seemed autistic. She took little notice of anyone or anything. At the shelter they began working with her. Proper diet and clean water helped her physically, but she still tended to sit just staring at a wall. Then she tested positive for heart worms and they asked if we’d take her on for treatment.

It took very little time after arriving here — and being under Cochise’s guidance — for her to blossom into a personality filled and very well behaved dog. She was very quiet. She’d watch intently when Cochise found something to bark at but she did not bark. It was close to a year before she started speaking up in this way. But she did have her own way of expressing herself. When she was particularly happy — when we would return after being away, sometimes at meal times (especially yummy smelling meals) and when Cochise returned from the animal hospital after being snake bit, she expresses happiness this way:

Making a Break For It (Again!)

Posted on: May 21, 2013 by: DougB

Blondie, dog, escape artist — My “baby girl” Blondie

We have had a real problem with Blondie exploiting any weakness she finds in a fence and making a break for the wild woods. As a result I have taken to tethering her in the shop yard or locking her inside the shop if I have to step away for a bit – like to go get the mail or do some gardening. After her last escape I spent a morning tightening up the fencing, bolstering posts, and sealing up the lower edges where she (or something) had pulled up the pins that hold the fence to the ground. I eliminated all the potential escape routes I could find. But she is strong as a bear, and it constantly surprises me what she’s capable of.

Ruckus: Foster Dog

Posted on: November 6, 2012 by: DougB

Ruckus lived up to his name: he liked to play hard with Cochise and was one of the few that could wear out The Chief. No information has survived the years since he was here.