The St. Louis Senior Dog Project

Mocha finds a home

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats.  See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

Mocha went to her new home today.  She's an 8-month-old dachshund, a little shy but most likely to end up as a friendly, happy dog in her new home.  Her new people are experienced dachshund owners and have a fenced yard that is secure even for the smallest, wiggliest dogs.

Mocha seemed pleased, willing to be held and petted by the husband. I liked that.  Mocha is still likely to run in the opposite direction if you chase her.  But if you sit down, she'll climb onto your lap.

We'll need to wait awhile to make sure everything's okay. I think it will be, but you never know.  When we adopt out dogs, we consider the first two weeks to be a trial period.  If things don't work out ( and sometimes they don't), we refund the adoption fee less a $50 donation.

And, of course, we will always take back our dogs even years later.  In fact, we insist on it.

We don't like to think that people will ever give back the dogs they adopt from us, but I understand that sometimes things do happen.  When someone adopts from us, they know they won't need to face the quandry of what to do with the dog if their life falls apart.  It'll always have a place with us.

AND, we're moving closer to a grant thanks to all you clickers our there.  Here's the link to the website where you can help us win a donation.  Vote every day from every computer you use...and tell all your friends to do the same.  It doesn't cost you anything.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

And we sure do appreciate it

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Happy dogs, other thoughts

Tango looks around a bit

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dog but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats.  See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

Yesterday could have been Lost and Found Day. In the morning I received a call from AVID about a black poodle (Whitney) that had been found in Illinois.  When I looked up the microchip, I found out Whitney had been adopted to a woman who now lived in Michigan.  When I reached Whitney's owner (on her cellphone), the first words out of her mouth were, "Thank God. We've been looking all day." 

So that worked out well.  They'd taken Whitney on vacation with them, and that's why they were in Illinois and not Michigan.  I'm so thankful for both microchips and cellphones.  They came through for this litle dog.

Later in the day I received a call from someone who'd found a dog with a Senior Dog Project tag on him.  Even without knowing the chip number, I suspected this might be Tango.  He fit the description and the area. 

Tango is a German Shorthaired Pointer still in foster care with Curtis.  Tango is still available for adoption, and one of the people who found Tango thought this big dog just might be one he'd want to adopt himself.  Tango evidentally broke out of a crate and went out a window in his foster home.  I wouldn't expect that much mischief from a dog who has grey on his muzzle.

We don't know yet if Tango found his own new home or is still in need of one, but he sure made an impression on the people who found him (or maybe he found them).  We already know Tango can sit/down/stay, but we sure wish he'd forget what he knows about jumping out of windows.

And keep on clicking!  Thanks for help from people like you, we're #2 in Missouri and in the top 100 for the country.  

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

Petfinder.com and the Animal Rescue Site have teamed up to offer up to one million dollars in grants. There are weekly winners and each state's top winner receives $1,000.

Look for the purple button in the upper right corner. Click.  Then look for a Vote Now button near the botton of the page. Click.  Write in St. Louis Senior Dog Project or find us in the drop down menu for Missouri.  Click. You'll see a Vote button.  Click. After that, you'll be asked to identify an animal, and you'll get a message saying your vote has been counted.

Vote every day.  The contest goes on through July, so don't stop now.  Vote from every computer you have and pass on the word to all your friends.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Blizzard hitches a ride home

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats. See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

Blizzard, an American Eskimo Dog also known as Jake, hitched a ride back home today from Kansas City.

How he ended up there as a stray is a complicated story, and one we've only partially unraveled.  His story also illustrates why our contract specifies that adoptors not give their dog away....that they return it to us if they can't keep it.  

The people who adopted Blizzard/Jake from us in 2005 evidentally forgot that clause in the contract.  When I first received a call (because of his microchip) from Kansas City about this friendly white dog, I tried calling the numbers for the people who'd adopted him.  The numbers had been discontinued.  I called one of the references and found out the couple had divorced and given Blizzard/Jake to a relative who had moved to Kansas City. I called that person and told her which shelter had the dog. She said she'd go get him.

She didn't, though, and the shelter adopted Blizzard/Jake out to someone else (note: They should have contacted me again and I would have arranged to get the dog back).  Some time later I received another call from AVID because someone else had found him running loose.  (Note, AVID calls me if the chip hasn't been registered to anyone else since Sr. Dog Project purchased the chip). By then we had no idea if Blizzard had been given away again or who might have had him last.

Lucky for Blizzard, a kind person found him, cleaned him up and took him to her vet. She even put up signs and placed ads looking for someone who might have lost him. No luck.

Today he hitched a ride with someone transporting another rescue dog from Kansas City to St. Louis.  Virginia, one of our volunteers, met the transport in St. Charles and brought him to me.

Let it be known:  Blizzard/Jake is a fine dog.  He's friendly; he's handsome; he's good with other pets.  I don't know if he's an escape artist, a door darter, or if he's just had some careless humans in his life.  You can be sure that the next person who adopts him will hear his story and know that they must bring him back to us if they can't keep him forever-- but we're looking for forever.

!!!!!AND, now I must ask you all to keep on clicking.  Because of all of you, we're in a good position to win a $1,000 grant...or more. We're #2 in Missouri and #110 nationally....and you can keep on clicking through July. Go to this website:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

Petfinder.com and the Animal Rescue Site have teamed up to offer up to one million dollars in grants. There are weekly winners and each state's top winner receives $1,000.

Look for the purple button where you click to send food to shelters.  Then look for a Vote Now button.  Write in St. Louis Senior Dog Project or find us in the drop down menu for Missouri.  You'll see a Vote button.  After you vote, you'll be asked to identify an animal, and you'll get a message saying your vote has been counted. If you don't make it to the animal test, you haven't voted.

Vote every day. Vote from every computer you have and pass on the word to all your friends.

All of us at St. Louis Senior Dog Project thank you.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Number 2 and Climbing

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding new homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats.  See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

Thank's to all of you, we are getting closer to winning $1,000....or maybe even more.  Here's the link that lets you help us win a grant...and it doesn't cost you anthing but a few clicks on your computer.

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

Petfinder.com and the Animal Rescue Site have teamed up to offer up to one million dollars in grants. There are weekly winners and each state's top winner receives $1,000.

Look for the purple button where you click to send food to shelters.  Then look for a Vote Now button.  Write in St. Louis Senior Dog Project or find us in the drop down menu for Missouri.  Click and you'll see a Vote button.  After that, you'll be asked to identify an animal, and you'll get a message saying your vote has been counted.

Vote every day.  The contest goes on through July, so don't stop now.  Vote from every computer you have and pass on the word to all your friends.

After I sent a message to many of our previous adopters, we jumped from #22 to #8.  Next day w were at #7, then #5.  I talked about this in this blog, and we jumped to #2.  Keep it up.  This is great.

Tomorrow is another adoption day.  Here's a picture of Eve, a little cocker spaniel about 7 years old.  We heard about her from a vet clinic which had been asked to euthanize her because her owner was finding it too difficult to handle several children (including a 2-year-old) and a dog.  The clinic staff was not comfortable with putting Eve to sleep and asked if we could help.

The owners turned Eve over to us last week.  Several children cried as they said goodby.  A sad,hard-to-understand situation. 

Eve has been perfect in foster care.  Quiet.  Affectionate.  Good with other pets  We really like her.

Maybe she'll be one of the lucky ones.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

This won't cost you anything

See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.  The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profi dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats.

Ellen's Notes:

You can help the St. Louis Senior Dog Project win $1,000, and it won't cost you a dime....just a few clicks on your computer.

Yes, you can help us help dogs like little Regis here, a shih tzu who found his home in 2007.  Nima sent us the picture and told us that Regis is "wonderful" if still a little fearful at times. Among other things, he won't go up the stairs by himself. But Regis does love his walks and even prances as he walks. Yeah Regis!

Now for how you can help us help more homeless dogs (and a few cats).

Petfinder.com and the Animal Rescue Site have teamed up to offer up to one million dollars in grants. There are weekly winners and each state's top winner receives $1,000.

Here's what you can do. Go to The Animal Rescue sit at http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/tpc/ERA_041309_ARS.  First click on the purple button to donate food to a shelter.  After you do that, look for the red Vote Now button.  You'll see where you can vote for the shelter of your choice.  Write in St. Louis Senior Dog Project and designate the state as Missouri.  You can also select from a drop down menu of rescues in the state. Then click VOTE. The next page will ask you to verify your vote by identifying an animal.  Once you do that, you'll get a message saying your vote has been counted.

Remember, you can vote every day!  And you can sign up for a daily click reminder.

After I sent an email alert to many of those who have adopted from us, we jumped from about #22 in Missouri up to #8 overnight.  We're now at #7, and with your help we can keep on climbing. If you have access to more than one computer, you can vote from each of them every day.

And you can forward this request to other pet lovers you know and they can pass it on to others.

And keep on clicking.

Thanks!

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

 

 

Duke and Hope

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats. See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

Duke was a City Pound dog, a German Shepherd about 7 years old...maybe older.  He was also heartworm positive.  We treated him for that and were happy when Julie and Bob showed up to adopt him.  They've sent us some pictures and we've been pleased to know Duke had found a couple of really fine humans.

I'd heard they were interested in finding a pal for Duke, so I was happy when I received a call from a shelter asking if I'd recommend them for a special dog at their place.  Hope had been with them for seven years and now finally Bob and Julie wanted to adopt her and had put my name as a reference.

I was thrilled to give them a glowing recommedation.  I've been receiving emails lately about how Hope is settling in with them.  It hasn't been without problems.  Hope was nervous, arthritic, and in need of a housebreaking refresher course.

Happily, Duke was able to help Hope learn the ways of being a house dog.

I'm so happy.  In the picture, you see Duke checking out his new companion. Some of you may not realize that dogs in "no kill" shelters need help too.  Without a new home, they spend their entire lives at the shelter, depending on a few short hours of affection from the volunters that show up to walk them.

Don't forget that when you search for that new dog for your home.

As I've said before, people who take in an older dog deserve a free pass to the afterlife

What else could possibly make more sense?

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Want to see a naked Aussie?

See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.  The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages --even a few puppies and cats.

Ellen's Notes:

Alphonse is running around the backyard naked.

He's the tri-colored Australian Shepherd I took in yesterday -- the one with the fist-sized matts in his coat,  Well the matts are gone and so is the beautiful Aussie coat.  Groomer said there was no other way.  After all, the coat will grow back.

Meanwhile, Alphone (Alfie) is feeling pretty good -- liberated I'd say. His head looks Aussie as does his tail nub, but his body is now smooth and grey. So far he doesn't even seem shy about his shorn appearance.

Best of all, Alfie smells a lot better now. 

Meanwhile, I'm researching ways (and just plan thinking of ways) to make my yard less muddy and lake-free in rainy weather. I have ideas.  I have plans.

And even a teensie bit of hope.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Mudville

See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.  The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding home for dogs of all ages and even some puppies and cats.

Ellen's Notes:

My backyard is slippery with mud.  Outside my window I see the reflection of trees in a slowly expanding ankle-deep lake just outside my back door.  My black lab splashes through it and, alas, bolts into the house through the dog door, bringing a little more sludge with him.  At least the mud doesn't show on his body.

Mary Jane is not so lucky.  She's a white dog or at least she used to be. In the picture, she looks like a spotted dog.  She's not a spotted dog.  And that is my bedspread she's on.

I have the livingroom blocked off from both dog and human traffic.  As for everything else, I'm taking the head-under-a-pillow-and-praying-for-the-rain-to-stop approach.  I give up.  To get the dogs outside, I must send them splashing through the brown lake.  That's a new Aussie and Mary Jane venturing out through the waterway.  When I call the dogs back inside, I must look the other way and pretend this isn't my life.  I have old bedspreads on the floor inside the door to help rub off some of the muddy paws.  But who am I kidding.  It just isn't working.

Muddville. This is my home.  This is where I live.  There must be a solution, a landscaping miracle that I will think of tomorrow.  Or maybe someone else will think of it and rescue me from Mudville.

I picked up an Australian Shepherd today who has been living outside since the death of his owner.  I'm trying to come up with a new name for him -- maybe Alfonso (Alfie).  Amanda Clay put that on a list of names she send me after I wrote a blog about overused dog names.

Alfie -- if the name sticks-- is a handsome boy, but it'll take some work to bring out that beauty.  The picture of his back here shows matts the size of fists.  So all I need to do is get him to the groomers and keep him out of my back yard.

Mary Jane isn't the only white dog here, either.  Let's not forget those two white (hah) poodles and my own American Eskimo mix, Cloud Dancer.  Now my head is beginning to hurt.

I was going to write a before and after blog, but the befores and afters keep recycling.  Here's Mary Jane before her bath; here she is after; here she is after another romp in the yard and before her next bath. Here's Alfie before his grooming, and soon I'll show him after. And the others.  And my house.  And so on and so on.

And in my dreams I'll come up with an after picture of my back yard that doesn't include the color brown.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com

Poodle antics

The St. Louis Senior Dog Project is a not-for-profit dog rescue organization specializing in older dogs but taking in and finding homes for dogs of all ages and even a few cats.  See our adoptable pets at www.olderbetter.petfinder.org.

Ellen's Notes:

I'm not exactly a poodle person, so I wasn't too happy about bringing home Eva and Zsa Zsa.  But since they tended towards bossyness with small dogs, I thought they should be with some bigger ones.  Once I'd introduced them around, they started playing in the back yard, occasionally poking their heads in the doorway. I kept an eye on them out the window as I worked at my computer. So far so good.  No problems between the poodle girls and the rest of the dogs.

I went back to work and the next time I checked outside.....no Eva and Zsa Zsa.  I walked through the yard.  No Eva and no Zsa Zsa.  I walked around the neighborhood.  No Eva and no Zsa Zsa.  I got in my car and drove around.  No Eva and no Zsa Zsa.  How did they get out of the yard?  They were small enough to find a spot to wiggle under the fence perhaps?  And what about that drain pipe?  Did they crawl into that?

I thought I heard barking in the wood behind the house.  I watched for birds of prey overhead.  I worried about coyotes.  Finally I returned home in defeat.

And moments later, Eva ventured out from under the bed in the spare bedroom...and quickly returned to her hiding spot.  I slid under the bed myself to see if there were actually two poodles there and not just one.  Don't ask me how they got back into the house without my noticing it.

I'm not happy with Eva and Zsa Zsa, but I'm happy they're here inside and safe.  Last I looked they had moved from under the spare bed to on top of it. Please, please, someone take them away from me.

One Lucky lady (actually named Lucky) was among those adopted today.  She's a 10-year-old dachshund whose elderly owner could no longer care for her. She's more than lucky; she's one happy lady, and it shows in the way she walks.

Ginger, a Shiba Inu puppy, also found a new home.  Other adoptions included Brownie the shih tzu, Roscoe a chihuahua/Beagle mix (maybe), Noodle the beagle, and Fred the chihuahua.

We welcomed Eve, the cockerspaniel, and Tango, the German Shorthaired Pointer mix, into our program, and welcomed back Farrah, Tasha and Mocha who returned from adoptions that hadn't worked out for them.  They'll find the right homes soon, I'm sure.

And that's enough for one day.

Ellen Ellick

President/Founder

St. Louis Senior Dog Project

EllenE9466@aol.com