Part of the Gang

I heard from one of my coworkers yesterday that a pair of our dogs, Ivy and Fiero, are going to be moving over to the Heights today! This is very exciting news for them, they are both great dogs and both green collars, by being moved over to the heights, they will get a lot more exposure to people and their chances of getting adopted will go way up. I hope we can get more of them moved over soon, we get some volunteers at the Lodges, but it is just a drop in the bucket compared to what they get in the Heights. Almost all of the dogs in Dogtown Heights are green collars that are great candidates for adoption so that is where the search often begins for a lot of people (some who don't know they are looking until they've met their new best friend).

This is Ivy, how can you not fall for that grin!

And this is Fiero, he is such a character, pretty short but just full of energy and ready to be friends with anyone who happens into his run.
On the Ballsy front, I am happy to report that I think I might have a better handle on how to read him. It seems that it is all about his tail - if he is unsure, he stands with his tail like a flagpole, straight up in the air and stiff as can be, but if he is happy to see you, it is just wagging away. When I walk into his lodge now, instead of a flagpole I am seeing wags and that is a great feeling. I have been taking an extra minute or two with him here and there, just petting and hanging out when I can. I am feeling more and more accepted by the dogs. I didn't really see it until we had some new people in the area helping out for a few days, we had two two-weekers (people doing an employment evaluation) and then we had some staff from other areas helping us out this past week while some of our regular staff were on vacation/weekends. It is amazing how fast you forget what it was like being the new kid on the block with the dogs, I am so used to being able to walk into lodges now and get a few welcoming and excited barks (especially around feeding time) that it was a bit jarring to go around with the unfamiliar people and see how the dogs were responding to them - not so welcoming barks from a lot of the dogs. While I don't want to sound like the plight of others makes me feel good, it did help me to realize that I am being accepted by the dogs and they are treating me differently now than they treat strangers. I talked about Batman in a previous post, he is barrier aggressive and a lot of people take a very long time before going in with him. These days he is so happy to see me most of the time and just wants me to pet and love on him for as long as I can stay. It is strange to see this wonderfully friendly and affectionate side of some of these dogs and then see how they respond to somebody new. Well that is about all I have time for today, the library is closing momentarily, so I must be going. Have a wonderful week! (Photos are still copyright Best Friends Animal Society.)