Celebrating Our 2014 Adopted Foster Dogs!

Our household fostered four foster dogs to adoption in 2014!!!

First was Sybil. Miss Sybil hit a speed bump in her first adoption with New Rattitude, but she is not worried now! Sybil (Kiki) has a wonderful family who absolutely adore her. She is never alone as her dad is retired and has a shop at home. She also gets to go on walks with her mom all the time and she goes everywhere with her people and that is what Sybil prefers!

Sybil (Kiki) Happy Tails to you, so happy to have been able to help you to your forever home.

Second adopted was Neon (now Rowan), this little gal was sure a hoot and I think I ended up with more photos of Neon in the short amount of time she was with us than any other foster dog. She was constantly doing something adorable. She also got a lot of attention and we are so happy that she was adopted into a forever home with another New Rattitude alumni, Sydney (now Aela). Rowan and Aela have settled in wonderfully and are sisters in everything they do. Their mom and dad got married over the summer and the girls even got to be part of the wedding! We love when our foster dogs become part of a family, so cherished and loved.

Neon the bouncy puppy!

What a cutie!

CongRats to Rowan and Aela's mom and dad!

Rowan celebrating her 1 year birthday and look at how big she is!

Silly girl. Look how confident and regal she has become.

Our next foster kid adopted in 2014 has a very very special place in our hearts. All our foster dogs are dear to us, but there was one we just knew we could never get enough of and this special boy became our very own furbaby. Timken was with us for 8 months before we adopted him. He is a special boy with some special needs and we made the decision we couldn't part with him. It was a good choice for us and for Tim! Tim continues to make baby steps in his confidence and in a little over a year he has really bonded to us and I believe he has learned to trust us. One thing he loves to do is K9 Nosework and it proficient in all 3 odors now. He also loves to go on his off leash trail walks every day, rain or shine, and when he is on "his" trails he is able to let loose and be a silly, confident rattie.

In the beginning Tim had to work up the courage to be close to me

Tim used to be very afraid of new places or people. He is still uncertain but with us as his home base he is able to work through it.

The first time Tim snuggled with Dave.... it took a few months for him to feel ok to snuggle, he snuggles with one of us every day now :)

Tim loves to fetch egg babies and is really good at it! Look at that much more confident boy!

I just love this photo of Skip and Tim a couple of months ago. Tim has come out of his shell and can be a silly rattie now. We are very happy he is forever a part of our family.

And the last foster furkid to be adopted from our home in 2014 was Annie! Annie had been adopted through New Rattitude before but her dad got very ill and could not keep her. Once a New Rattitude dog always a New Rattitude dog! We had a spot for her and she wasn't with us long. Annie is such a people loving dog and let me tell you, her retired dad spends every waking and non waking moment with Annie. He has fibromyalgia and has to sleep in his easy chair due to pain but Annie gently snuggles with him and comforts him. Annie's mom is a big walker and they live right by a large walking trail system. Annie and mom go walking up and down all the hills and then Annie gets to sleep part of the night in bed with mom, until it is time to comfort dad. Annie is everything to her mom and dad AND all the neighbors come to visit too! Turns out everyone loves Annie! We couldn't be happier for her and her people.

Annie loves to go for walks.

Here is a photo I got of Miss Annie with her dad. She is looking so good! They have continued with her weightloss plan and she is looking fabulous.

Coming up will be some more Nosework posts as Birdie, Liza, and even Jenny are going to be playing catch up to their brother's Skip and Tim in Nosework skills. We start in January and it is going to be a blast.

Our Northwest Region had 55 adoptions in 2014, please see the wonderful video card celebrating each one. http://tinyurl.com/l88qgz5  

Happy New Year everyone. May 2015 be prosperous, healthy, and peaceful. Make a resolution to walk those furkids!

What Do Eyes, Ears, Cuddling, High Fives, and Hot Dogs Have In Common? Pupdate...

I will admit when we dropped this little gal off at her new home over a year ago I actually wailed in the car on the way home. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy for her to have her forever home and I was 100% sure her mom and dad were "the ones" for her and she for them,  but I had gotten attached to the little bugger.

We are so happy we get updates with photos from her mom a couple of times a year and this last update came with a surprise. Headshots of a little girl who had always been very camera shy!

I bet most of you know who I have been talking about....yup SIERRA! Look at this girl now! Yes I had been sad to say goodbye but I am not sad now. I am full of joy for this sweet rattastic girl and her mom and dad, she is the apple of their eyes, and she deserves no less.

Sierra's mom wrote, "Sierra is so much fun these days...it's funny, I keep thinking "Oh, she's really come out of her shell since we got her," but it turns out there's always more personality to reveal. She's hilarious. Such a goof, especially when she's in play mode. Also, she's the cuddliest dog I've ever known. No dog wants to snuggle as much as she does, and I love it!" (her mom calls this photo, "those eyes and ears")

 

Sierra doing her "high five".

Sierra in her adorable hot dog Halloween costume.

Sierra cuddling with mom...and smiling :)

Sierra with one of her signature "toofie grins". When I think of Sierra this is the look that always comes to my mind.

So now you know what eyes, ears, cuddling, high fives, and hotdogs all have in common! Sweet Sierra.

Three Ratties And The Tolt River Trail

Today was a bit drizzly in the PNW, but that didn't mean the dogs weren't up for a walk! We decided a change in scenery was what we needed today so we ventured out to Carnation, WA and the Tolt River Trail. This time it was just three out of five dogs who accompanied us. Birdie wanted to stay cuddled up in her blankets in her crate in the car, and Liza was going crazy to be able to stay home by herself because she really really wanted to be able to work on, in peace, a frozen stuffed Kong that she decided had her name on it. It ended up being a very peaceful walk and the three amigos had a great time exploring this place they haven't been to since last February.

I loved this smoothly weathered huge log that had washed up on shore during some storm in the recent past

Very serene Tolt River and all the fall colors and bare branches.

Skip facing me, Jenny's cute little tush, and Tim off in the distance! Tim was feeling pretty frisky in this new place and really wanted to go out and check out the new smells.

Skip always loves to check out the shore and water's edge.

Tim getting brave to get closer to the moving water with his brother Skip.

The boys still seeking and loving this new place.

Tim got really close to the water for a sniff at this piece of wood.

Sweet Jenny, enjoying hanging out with mom while the boys run around like madmen.

Pretty little girl...

Jenny posing on the rocks for me.

It was time to get back on the trail and there were lots of things that needed some pee-mail to be left for the next visitor to read.

Time to practice recall! Look at Tim run to me when I call his name.

Skip is air-bound coming up a small hill, "yes mom, you called?" Good Boy!

Tim taking the same hill! "Here I am mom!"

These rocks make such a great backdrop for three rattie kiddos.

As do these leaves...

Gorgeous Snoqualmie River looking North, downriver. That bridge in the distance is a walking suspension bridge that ends up in a sweet little camp ground where they have yurts and camping spaces.

Snoqualmie River looking South, upriver. That bridge is for cars.

Remember, if you dress for the weather you can still get your rattie out for a fun and enriching day!

Tim (with Skip) Revisits Edmonds, WA

Back in January we took Timken and our foster dog at the time Sybil to Edmonds, WA and this was one of the first really big public experiences Tim had. Here is the blog post from that excursion Sybil and Timken Help Me Celebrate! Part 2 of 2 Scary thing.
A couple of weeks ago we finally made it back to Edmonds and were interested to see if Tim was any more comfortable here than he was about 10 months ago. We decided that we would only walk Tim and Skip together because Skip is very comfortable out and about in public spaces and he has no care about other people (as long as they ignore him), dogs, sights, or sounds. We felt Skip would be a good companion for Tim to model curiosity and calmness in a public environment. We also made sure to go on a weekday thinking things would not be too chaotic or crowded. All in all it worked out pretty well!

And we're off! Once Tim got out of the car he was ready to check out the features of this park. This was a good sign...

Skip and Tim both liked checking out this little rock garden at the entrance.

Tim says, "ok dad let's check this place out and mom can take the photos!

"Wow dad, I think I remember this place from before, let's get a closer look."

Skip and Tim take no time to get us to their favorite part, the sand, drift-wood, brush, and smells...

Tim takes a reassurance break while Skip wishes I could unleash him so he could get to the exploring part.

Skip is always so great at posing for me to take his photo. "cheeeeeeeze"

Yup even at 11 years old Skip says, "I still got it mom".

More climbing....

And this is now one of my most favorite pictures of these boys...

Tim says, "oh yeah this IS fun dad! I love to do this!"

Tim tries to strike a pose like Skip taught him to do....nice!

So back in January this raised walkway over the marina was a really scary thing to Tim.

It still is as you can tell by his body language, but he was more ready to try it this time and he did make it after some stops, reassurance, and salmon treats. This walkway really creaks and you can see through the slats down below. Skip on the other hand says, "what's the big deal Tim?"

I loved the functional artwork here all around the marina. This is a beautiful storm drain cover.

And another cool storm drain cover.

Such a beautiful and peaceful day. The weather was mild especially for Oct.

Whoops, saw the sign too late. Do cute Ratties count? SORRY city of Edmonds Plaza people....

Tim and dad taking in the beautiful boats.

"Hi mom, I love you..."

Skip wonders when will we be motoring again?

"Mom do you think you could put the camera away so we could get moving?"

There were some passersby that worried Tim so he needed another break.

Edmonds-Kingston ferry taking off...

Such beautiful flowers blooming in late Oct!

There are all sorts of these fun bronze sea sculptures hiding around the small beach.

I loved these guys...more bronze sculptures.

Yes mom wanted more posing from the boys.

"Dad do you think mom will be done soon?"

Tim was a little flummoxed by this sea lion baby so dad touched it to show him it was ok....

Skip never misses a chance to get his toes wet...

This is Tim's seagull impression.

All of a sudden there was a very loud train whistle close by. Tim was really not liking this and he started to freak out.

So dad held him until the train was gone. That train blew it's whistle too many times even for our ears.

This is the offending train.

Skips decides to check out the pee-mail while Tim is waiting for the train to be done making all that racket.

This seemed like a nice family. Do you think the people know they have seagulls on their heads?

Time to head back, the train is gone, and all is quiet again at the marina. We had a great time with the boys. Next time we will have to bring the girls along. That will be a hoot!