Happy Dance!!!

We have some Pawsabilities and some adoptions to celebrate these days!!!

Chrome, who was with us for 9 months, went out this week on Pawsability!!! WoooHoooo!!!

Roger, a FFC project, left the shelter with Roger, a gentleman who had seen Roger out on walks and decided he had to stop in and meet this handsome boy!!! Another great Pawsability!!!

Gypsy, our longest term resident left yesterday for a home she will share with a beagle!!! We are ecstatic that she got to go to her own home!!!

One of the Carroll College professors chuckled with us about Trigger, one of the dogs selected by the Human Animal Bond program to receive special training, and said Trigger still has a swinging butt!!

Sheebie, a little old heeler mix that wormed her way into hearts has left the shelter on Pawsability. A couple of newer dogs have also left.

Amidst all the good news to be thankful for this Thanksgiving we would like to ask if anyone would be interested in helping with morning potty walks? Please email Jo Bristow, the Volunteer Coordinator, lchsvolunteering @mt.net on the particulars of any volunteer jobs.

Have a safe holiday and remember to keep the turkey carcass away from your pets. Those cooled bones can cause major problems for their digestive systems!

Evolution of a Dog's Behavior

This is Gypsy, the darling of the Feisty Fido Crew at Lewis and Clark Humane Society.


The Feisty Fido Crew is a group of experienced volunteers willing to put in extra time at the shelter with dogs that have behavior problems. Each member of the Crew has walked hundreds of hours as a dog-walker and received extra training before being allowed to handle "special" dogs. The Crew is headed by Tom Kandt, a graduate of the now-defunct San Francisco SPCA six-week Academy for Dog Trainers. Tom is certified as a trainer and a behavior counselor by the Council for Certification of Pet Dog Trainers. The CCPDT is one of a very few groups that maintain professional standards for trainers.

So, you can see Gypsy and other dogs that have been Feisty Fido dogs have received some of the best help possible in Montana. Gypsy is now ready to go and be a family dog and there have been and still are people who want to adopt her. Right now a veterinary technician is waiting to move into a home where she and her beagle, Maggie, can take Gypsy home and make her part of their family.

Gypsy started out as a hyper, snappy, unfocused dog that put a couple of dents in Crew-members' skins. It didn't take long to show her that she didn't get what she wanted with those behaviors. Through training and discipline plus play and socialization Gypsy has become a beautiful and sweet dog. She gets along with most dogs now whereas she was unhappy around most dogs before. Here's a video of Gypsy with one of her past playmates at the shelter:




We treasure every success story and Gypsy is one of our most cherished graduates। I hope if the home we have hoped for doesn't pan out that someone will come along who is just perfect for our Gypsy.

Black is Beautiful

Who wouldn't think that this dog is cute? And what does she have in common with Andrea, Chrome, Cody, Ranger, Lady, Fluffy/Scruffy, and Oliver, Lucky, Shadow, Amelia and Oliver? All of them are dogs that have been overlooked by many of the potential adopters passing through our kennels. The above dog, Gypsy, is our longest term dog and has been with us for over a year. What do Gypsy, Andrea, Chrome, Cody, Ranger, Lady, Fluffy/Scruffy, and Oliver, Lucky, Shadow, and Oliver have in common? Either black or dark coats. Black dogs are the most over-looked of the millions of dogs in shelters. It is such a problem that it has its own name: Black Dog Syndrome.

People may consider them too “plain”, think they are menacing, or simply don’t notice them because their dark color makes them disappear in their kennels. It is harder to get good photos of black dogs, even with good backgrounds, so they are the leasy likely to be noted on shelter's websites. People are looking for a face to fall in love with and the black dogs don't stand out.

Since black dogs are the least likely to be adopted and therefore the most likely to be euthanized, they die in large numbers in most shelters. What happens at our shelter is we have a high number of black dogs since we don't have a set time-period for holding dogs. Two of three of our longest-term dogs are black. Only two of the ten longest-term dogs are light-colored: Giselle and Hercules.

People discriminate against black dogs without even realizing it. Please take a second look at the beautiful black dogs and take them outside into the sunshine. Interact with these dogs before you decide which dog is right for you. Choosing a dog by its personality and not through an unconscious preference for color is the smart thing to do. We think black is beautiful and if you take a closer look you will too.

Eta: Somebody decided that black looks good in their life! I just heard that Andrea has left the shelter!!!!!!! One less black dog to worry over for us worriers.