FOHA (Friends of Homeless Animals): Dec 10, 2011

It's such a productive Saturday. Swimming, walking the dogs and having dinner with a friend.

Today I walked 3 dogs, Joi, Alice and Ricky after my swimming class in the morning. (I was able to swim 2 laps, 1.5 on freestyle and then floating on my back across the pool which I never did before. Yeah~.)

I found it might be a good idea to let Joi running non-stop in the play area before walking her. She was a runner. Don't underestimate those short legs. She ran like a rabbit and went through every single puddle on muddy trails. At the end she turned half-white (on the upper part) and half-black (from the tummy down including her chin.) I tried my best to clean her up but...I think bathing might do the job.

Alice was so cute despite her Boxer look and her towering height. I let her off the leash in the play area since we're friend now. She was jogging around the area like a royal horse. Her head was up. Her body was straight and only those long elegant legs were moving. Then I playfully chased or blocked her way a couple time. She just looked up, smiled at me and jumped around happily. No pulling or speedy running while I was walking her. Such a sweet dog.

Ricky was my tough one today. I think he's a American Saffordshire Terrier. He got shiny black color and was very shy from the look. It turned out that he didn't let me (or anyone) touch him at all. No wonder nobody had walked him. I suspect he had been abused before coming to the shelter. A couple people tried to pet him while we're walking. He went crazy. Poor thing. So it took me forever to get him on the leash because he was back away every time I extended my hand out. The staff seemed to be aware of the problem. She let me get to his run from the back where usually only the on-site staff are allowed to go in in order to clean the runs. It's much easier since the back door was bigger and all the dogs can see outside from the back. Ricky pulled a bit but not a runner. Thanks goodness!

The funny thing was his walking buddy named Lucy! My friend walked her. (If you have never watched the TV show "I Love Lucy", you will have to! You gonna love Lucy's silliness.) And if you think that we could chat while walking them, I can tell you right now that...um not really. Ricky and Lucy just went wherever they wanted to go whether to sniff or else. They walked in a zig-zag pattern and our leash tangled up a couple times.

I didn't walk Molly, Mickie and Gulliver since they had been walked. Sweet Deuce needed to wear a harness for an unknown reason. My friend walked Dooley for a second time so I walked along with them. And he ran today. Way to go Dooley!

There was a volunteer training today. I am so glad that people hear about this shelter and decide to come and help. There were a number of runs empty. Based on FOHA newsletter there were about 4-5 dogs had been adopted during the past week. Jolly, the little Yorkshire Terrier, was one of them.

Visit FOHA if you're interested in adopting a dog, a cat or volunteering.

Hope you have a great week.