A quick Penny update:
Jared and I spent Christmas with Bruster and Ptilota at my grandparents house, with my mom, brother, uncle, aunt, cousin, and grandparents. It was Bruster's first time there, and boy did he love it. We stayed the night there, and decided to test him and see how he would do sleeping without his crate, in a new house. Regardless of me having "mom ear" all night (sleeping with one ear listening to make sure he was okay) I had a full nights sleep because he didn't budge once. We put a big warm blanket on the floor at the foot of the bed, and he and Pty snuggled up and slept the whole night through. He loved all the attention, and of course, all the turkey (We don't often give them human food, only on special occasions and in small doses).
Sorry to all of you Bruster fans out there- I haven't posted in 15 days (15 days of no new Bruster pics!!! AGGHHH) I am currently a graduate student at Moss Landing Marine Labs, getting my masters degree in Marine Geology and Wetland Biology- needless to say, sometimes its gets a little busy around here. Luckily I can do quite a bit of work from home (great for the puppies) but it does afford me little time to sit on the internet and blog while in the middle of finals and whatnot. That being said, sorry for the delay in new pics! Here are a few for you... Bruster is doing GREAT, he is turning into a sassy, smart little guy who has lots of energy and LOVES to play tug of war with Pty. They have been a little cooped up with the rain (and my work load) but we are looking forward to a weekend of outings. We did take Bru to his first "new house" outing, a friends birthday barbeque,where there were puppies that were 9 weeks old and 12 year old senior dogs. Bruster was great to everyone, loved the puppies, and played until he fell asleep in the middle of the kitchen floor. He is so easy to handle, he is going to make his permanent parents so happy...
Pty and Bruster are bonding really well- last night they snuggled in front of the wood burning stove on a blankie all night. Bruster is adjusting to life at our home really well- I have been lucky enough to be home all day every day since we have gotten him, and really been able to introduce him to the good life. He already knows how to sit (thanks Joanie!) and he and Pty hang out and play with toys and play outside pretty much all day. I have been taking him for walks with Pty, and have noticed that he is a little hesitant when he sees cars and such, but if he is walking with Pty he is fine. I tried to take him for a walk on his own, and he was having none of it- he seemed very scared of birds in the brush, dogs barking, peoples voices- I think until he gains more confidence, we will keep walking him with Pty- he seems to feel a lot safer with her there (can you blame him? I do too). He is a dream with cat- he wanted to check her out the first few days, and she gave him a little cat warning (her gutteral meow) and he backed off and hasn't looked at her since. He doesn't chase her in the yard, and he doesn't seem all that interested in her in the house any more. I think he'll be fine in a house with cats. That all being said, we are loving having him- he is such an easy foster, and he is going to make the perfect family so happy.
Although Brusters loving mom's at the shelter got him a wonderful plush bed (which he sleeps on soundly every night in his crate) he opted today to sleep on my pile of doggy blanket laundry. No doubt it smelled yummy to him, and he curled right up on the pile while I graded papers...
This is baby boy Bruster. He came to the Salinas shelter in Monterey county in the middle of October, and stole the hearts of the kind people that work so hard out there. He proved himself to be a little shining star from the get go, and had lots of angels working very hard to make sure this little ball of love made it out into the big world... We were contacted by a very caring and diligent shelter/AFRP staff member, who thought of us (so sweet) while trying to get him into a great foster home. Of course, we looked at Bruster's pictures, and it was all over- how could you say no to that?! So we picked him up today, and after a bittersweet farewell to his shelter mommies, he popped up into the car and cuddled up for the ride up to Santa Cruz. He bounded into the house (it was raining when we got home), and walked right through the living room, into our little guest room that is now his room. We put his big warm bed in his crate, and he jumped right into it. After a lot of eating, drinking and sniffing his new toys and new surroundings, he got to meet Pty. Needless to say, there was copious amounts of tail wagging, along with lots of snorffling (a technical term I have coined referring to a particular noise pits make when happy and sniffing one another). After about a hour or so of that, it was bath time, which went by without a hitch- no complaints about a massage in warm water from this little guy. Then, another hour of in the house time, exploring and hanging with just us, until his little eyes started to get droopy and we curled him up in his warm crate for the night. Its going to be hard to give this one up...
Our short month and a half with Mr. Charlie Brown has flown by, and he has found his new family. They found him on the AFRP webpage, and fell in love with his adorable mug. We took him out to their house last week, and they fell in love with him even more. Tonight, he gets adopted by them and officially leaves our home. I am so happy for him, I think his new family will be great and he gets to have lots of growing up adventures with their 7 year old son, but I am sad to see him go. He has been so happy and goofy, and challenging at times- he has taught me a lot about what I like to call "puppy patience". Cheers to a great life for Charlie! Yay for people who are wonderful enough to adopt rescue dogs, and to the organizations who rescue them in the first place.
Pty's favorite pass-time is sunbathing. Apparently, Charlie has caught on to this, and has taken it up as well. They run outside and plop down right in the nice sunny patch near the garden. They can stay laying there for hours if we don't disturb them, they love it so much. I like to see Charlie calm around Pty- he was so excited to play with her at all times for the first few weeks, and Pty, though being one of the most patient dogs in the world, was starting to show her frustration at his continual playing. She would just run inside when he wouldn't stop wanting her to play, and plop down on our bed to get away from him. Now, it seems like they worked it all out- I can just see Pty saying "okay, Charlie, see, sometimes we like to play and sometimes we lay out. But there is a time and place for each thing..." Don't underestimate the power of a great dog to be a great teacher to other dogs. Pty has probably taught Charlie (and Penny) more then Jared and I ever did.
The kids have been spending a lot of time outside, the weather has been so nice (I call them my kids 'cause I don't actually have kids). They like to get up on our chairs when we aren't outside with them, and lay in the sun. It's pretty cute. Charlie is doing well, he finally gets the whole cat thing- he knows he can't go near her but he still likes to watch what she's doing. We keep a close eye on them when they are together. He has learned sit and lay down, and the next one (the most important in my mind) to learn is stay. He is lined up for his last treatment for mange next friday, and will be going up on the AFRP adoptions web page the first week of August!
It was too cute for me to not put it up! This is my best friends daughter, who was over at our house while her parents were busy for a couple of hours. She and Pty sat on the couch and watched Shrek... there's just something so sweet about the image of a "big scary pit bull" sitting on the couch cuddling with a little girl watching a movie. Tear!
Charlie is doing great these days. He is very sassy though, and when you tell him "no" he gives you this little bark, like he saying "don't say no to me! I say no to you!" Its actually quite funny, which makes it harder to get him to stop doing it. He is doing alright with the cat, he has had a few run ins with her and is just so interested... Jared and I are thinking he will probably do best in a home with not cats or small dogs. That being said, he doing great with Pty, who is SOO mellow with him, and pretty much lets him run and jump all over her. We are working on the talking back, and he has learned to sit. His mange is getting better day by day, and he is definitely getting used to taking baths- he gets so dirty outside he looks more brown then white!
Pty has been taking this new household change very well. She has never spent time around a puppy before- Penny was 6 months when we got her, but by the time her casts were off and Pty and Penny got to interact daily Penny was 9 months and nearly the same size a Pty. Right now, Charlie is 20 lbs and Pty is 55... Pty and Penny used to play hard, and I had faith that Pty would see that Charlie is just a baby and not play so hard with him. Well, I was right, and when they are outside together Charlie chases around Pty, and Pty lets him, and she looks at me with the classic "Moooommmm, make him go away he's buuuuggginnngg me" look while she lets Charlie climb all over her. Its pretty cute. Charlie is doing great, he's had a few accidents in the house but he is great about sleeping through the night. Today he went up to the cat and when I gave him a firm "NO" he backed away from her- which is GREAT! To be this young and understanding commands, especially about leaving the cat alone, I think, is wonderful. I think he may prove to be fine for a house with other dogs, cats and children. And, he's just so cute!
Today Charlie spent the day with us at our best friends sons 2nd birthday party. We were hesitant to bring him, but didn't want to leave him at home alone in his crate just yet, so we brought him along. He played with around 20 1-10 years olds for about 6 hours, and he was WONDERFUL. All day long parents complimented us on how sweet and gentle he was with the children. Needless to say, after all that fun he was pooped! He and Jared snuggled up on the couch and slept for a few hours post party. 
Alright Penny followers, its time to move on to the next foster pup. He is coming to us from the Monterey County shelter, where the wonderful people there didn't want to see him get lost in the shelter system and contacted AFRP to see what they could do. He has a mild case of demodex mange, and will be getting treated for it as we foster him. He is coming home with us on Monday, and Jared, Pty, Cosmo and I couldn't be more happy. He is still very young, so we are going to take the opportunity to get him temperament tested and start some really solid training (we took our rescued pit, Pty, to pit ed classes through BAD RAP and learned some really great stuff from them), and he will be a model pit bull when he is ready to go to his forever home. I am going to change the name of the blog to a easier id name for everyone, so keep yourself posted and thanks for all the great support. Can't wait to start reporting on this little cutie!
We went to visit Penny in her new home last night. She is doing wonderfully! She was so happy and seems to be doing great with her new mom's, Katie and Cora. They have been taking her to the beach and out to eat with them (Santa Cruz is great about having dogs on outside patio's at eateries) and she is having a ball with them. It was so great to see her, and even better to see her so happy in her new home. Thanks to Katie and Cora for giving her the great life she deserves!!!
Well, today is Penny's last day with us. She will be going to live with her new moms, Katie and Cora, tomorrow. We are so happy, and at the same time so sad. Luckily, we will get to see her, we are planning on having many Pty and Penny play dates because the girls are going to miss each other. Jared and I have spent the last 3 days at home with the girls, playing and cuddling as much as we can. Here's to happy endings !!!
Well Penny followers, here it is, the moment you've been waiting for.... PENNY HAS FOUND A FOREVER HOME!!! We are happy to tell you the wonderful Katie and Cora have decided to adopt Penny, and will be doing the paperwork in the next week and bringing Penny to their new home on June 15th. They are a wonderful loving family who are so excited to bring Penny into the house they share with their two cats, Simon and Caleb. The are very pit bull informed, and will be come pit savvy owners in no time. Penny is already signed up for puppy class with them, and they come over to visit her here usually once or twice a week, and she seems to really love them. We are going to be sad to see our baby girl go, but Katie is a colleague of mine so we will be able to have Pty and Penny play dates and will get to see Penny grow up and become the perfect breed ambassador that we know she can be. We are so excited for her, it has been a wonderful journey for us and for Penny, and we are so excited to continue on being foster parents. We would encourage you to become a foster parent, it gives a whole new meaning to what is important in life. Thanks everyone for all the support and love for Penny and for us, all the wonderful comments, and especially the donations to AFRP that have made a great life for Penny possible. I will continue to post until she goes to her new home, and hopefully Katie and Cora will update it every once in awhile to let you all know how Penny is. Have a great weekend!
We live in a fairly drafty log cabin (that we love) with a very warm wood burning stove, but it can get cold at night, so a long while ago we bought Pty a heated bed (what a spoiled girl). Penny has taken quite a liking to Pty's bed, as you can see. Penny is doing wonderfully, we have been working really hard at her basic training- she is getting so good at the stay command! I can have her lay on her blanket in the living room, tell her to stay, walk outside around the cabin to our laundry, change the laundry, and walk back in and she hasn't moved a muscle! She is very eager to please, and as we all know stay can be a hard one to learn. She can sit and lie down, and we are working on stay and leave it. We have had no problems with her and our cat, all we have to say is a firm "no" and Penny looks away from the cat and leaves her alone. She will be a great candidate for CGC (canine good citizen) and further training- maybe hospital visit dog training or something along those lines. Her eagerness to please people overrides her natural instinct to do what she wants to, which is a great quality in a pit bull. She is just a dream girl!
