Dark Times

It is that time of the year when there is less light and you want to wear turtlenecks and wrap yourself in an afghan, stay home, and drink hot cocoa.




Izzy and Bullett tried to keep Loki warm but he said, "You are doing it wrong!"




We don't have turtlenecks for the dogs so we improvise.







Loki's coat wasn't enough to keep him warm so while Izzy and Bullett had a rousing game of chase and wrestle, Loki got some relaxation and warmth in the arms of a volunteer.




Loki looks to be the next adoption project by volunteer Loreen Skinner.



You see, Loreen's last project was the adoption of Hercules! Well, it isn't quite a done thing yet. He's on Pawsability.


Loreen found non-traditional ways to advertise dogs for adoption when she put a magnet on her car. Hercules was already used to sitting in his foster mom's car so Loreen put him in her truck and advertised his availability by parking her truck by the front door of the shelter. Then volunteers began taping hand-made posters on their cars.

Posters appeared on a sandwich board out front and in a local city garage.

Magnetized versions began appearing on cars.

The word got out state-wide through Craigslist and a potential adopter saw our videos and photos of Hercules. She had been looking for just the right dog for a year. And Herc was the right one for her. Keep your paws crossed for him but so far so good.

A number of adoptions came through since Christmas. The shelter is at an unusual low in terms of numbers of dogs. It has been a blessing because a number of the staff are involved in dealing with the Malamutes.

Just as the light starts increasing and our moods begin to lift as we look towards Spring, everything seems sunnier. Seeing happy dogs play on Play Group Sundays is a huge boost for us.


Dogs like Bailey get happy-crazy eyes and flapping tongue from being able to run the entire parking lot. We get happy from watching them get happy. How could you not feel that warm and gooey feeling when you see this photo taken by Debi Beardslee, our action photographer?


So while we wait for it to get warm we aren't in our PJs and afghans, we are still in our Carhartts and out there with the dogs. Volunteer participation in dog-walking has dropped off dramatically but the Feisty Fido Crew and staff are out there!

Hercules Playing With Another Dog

As I said in a prior post, Hercules has surprised us by being able to enjoy the company of some other dogs. I think it is fair to say that the environmental stress of the kennel was a huge factor in his deterioration at the shelter. I hope someone will give him a chance at a home now that it looks he could live with another dog.

It has been said before and I will say it, dogs change over the course of their lives. They can, with guidance, improve their ability to get along with other dogs.

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.

Andrea says it is still too hot to go long without water!



Another summer is drawing to a close. The play groups had to be pushed to late in the day because of the heat. I suspect we will start them earlier and earlier as the weather cools. In the meanwhile, here are some of Debi's great photos from the last play group!


This is why we all like play groups:


































Run Fritz Run!!!















The dogs don't have much longer to enjoy the water. Soon it will be time to put the pools away.








They seem intent on going for the gusto! That includes ice!




It is our hope that all these cuties find their own homes soon. I'm sure Andrea would appreciate your consideration as she has been here longer than any other dog in these pictures:

Beginnings

During our latest parking lot play group we reflected on how it was in the beginning, when three dogs seemed like a risk.




Then we got up to eight, then started closing the gates and letting the whole kennel out.







We have learned that the dogs and people have more fun when we limit the volunteers to highly experienced people and the number of dogs to 12 that like to play the same way or at about the same energy level. Here's some photos by Debi Beardslee of the dogs having fun.














You can see how much fun we had! Gina, our Executive Director, stayed around to enjoy the dogs too. The most fun was had watching these guys:


That's Dakota, Dudditz and Aspen. (Pit Bull, Boxer, Pit Bull.) They played so nicely with each other! This is exactly what we want when we put dogs together for play groups. More on how we do that later.

Hopefully this beginning at blogging will be as successful as our play groups have been. If you want more right now go to our Youtube account, channel name LCHSpets, and see videos of our dogs and our work. You can see us at our webpage, www.mtlchs.org, and our Facebook account, Lewis and Clark Humane Society.

~LCHSpets