Afternoon snacks and naps

My husband came home from work and let Momma Haha out of the room where she stays when we are away. He then promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Momma Haha is pretty darn smart. She's lived with us long enough to know where the pantry is, and now she also knows how to get it open. While my husband snoozed merrily on the sofa Haha helped herself to an afternoon snack of popcorn, superhero gummies, fig newtons and possibly some crackers. By the time I arrived home from work she was happily napping on the couch too!

While this may be viewed as "bad behavior" by some I figured all that time on the streets made her independant and self sufficient. She got hungry so she found some food and ate it! lol. Hopefully in her time with us she will learn that she doesn't have to struggle to get by anymore. Thanks to ARNO, from now on she will be loved and cared for the way she deserves, and she will never have to scavenge for her dinner again.

Ears!

Momma dog, Haha, has really big ears that stand erect all the time. I think they are beautiful and add to her unique looks.


It appears at least one of her babies is going for the same look. I went to bed one night and the next morning I woke up to find Aki's ears standing straight up! I'm thinking at least one more and possibly all of them will have large pointy ears like their mother.


Here are a few fun facts about a dogs ears:

• A dogs ears are not only for hearing but also for communicating in dog language.


• At least 18 different muscles work at tilting, rotating and positioning the ears to capture sound and communicate how they are feeling.


• Dogs can move their ears independantly of one another.


• A dogs ear canal is L-shaped. This can cause a dog to be predisposed to parasites and infections so keep them clean!


• Dogs can hear higher frequencies than humans, but cats can hear better!


• In some breeds the ears aid in the sense of smell, such as bloodhounds. The long floppy ears help accumulate smells as they follow their noses.


• If they position their ears just right while making the appropriate eye contact with humans they often times end up with a yummy treat. The ears play a very important role in begging and tugging on heart strings!

Rain, rain go away....

Momma Haha was enjoying some sun today after all the rain. She is still super skinny but we are changing her to a better food and she is going for a weigh in on Monday.




A huge THANK YOU to Jefferson Feed. The guy who helped me pick a good quality, yet affordable food was very helpful. Then at checkout I purchased an ID tag for Haha. The girl working the checkout gave me 10% off after learning the food and tag were for ARNO foster dogs!

UPDATE: On 8/1 Momma Haha weighed in at 24.4 pounds.

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter

Named after the seasons in Japanese, here are the puppies.

Haru
















Natsu















Aki

Fuyu

Let's do it again...

A lot has happened since my last post in January. Life got hard there for a while, my dog Chippewa developed a severe spinal problem and needed lots of care. We've since lost her and miss her terribly.

Jake was finally adopted in late March. His new mom reports that he is "the best behaved dog she has ever met!" I had to giggle as I remembered the antics of Jake.

Once Jake was gone I took some time to heal from my loss and give my husband a chance to forget some of the stress that Jake brought to our lives during such a trying time. I was desperately lonely without my best friend so, after some searching we adopted Tucker. He was just a baby and we agreed we would spend some time letting him grow and become a part of the family before bringing in more fosters.

Now Tucker is 6 months old and very well behaved so we decided it was time to do it again. We heard about a momma dog with 4 babies who needed foster care. Animal Rescue New Orleans was willing to take her in but they have no space and were desperately seeking foster care. We filled out the foster app, passed a home visit and I'm very honored that we are working with them.

So, I'd like to introduce, momma dog: Haha, and her 4 babies: Haru, Natsu, Aki and Fuyu! They have been here for about a week and are doing great! Haha was living on the streets with a homeless man who apparently was trying to sell her puppies at only 1 week of age. A good Samaritan intervened and now she and her babies are safe. She is quite skinny but she is getting what she needs now and will soon be healthy again. She is sweet as sugar, very tolerant and calm. She ignores the cats and other pets and she simply just wants to be loved. Her babies are all very outgoing and friendly. I will be making an individual post for each of them soon. For now you can enjoy watching them on the web cam!

Jake did it!

In all this time with Jake, I have been more than frustrated by his inability to house train. With no warning he would flood the floor five minutes after relieveing himself outside. Well, I am very proud to say that the past few weeks have been remarkable. It's like something clicked in his brain. I was afraid to post the good news for fear of jinxing myself, but last night Jake proved to me that he CAN do this. Yesterday was cold and rainy all day and he was very reluctant to go out very often. I was growing concerned and preparing to make him go outside when I saw him walk to the back door, look at the door knob, pace then look at the doorknob. I opened the door and he went out, in all that cold and rain, he peed a river and then came right back inside! I was so happy! Then he did it again before the night was over. I think he's done it! I think he has mastered the house training!

No more NOLA Rejects :(

Kristy and I decided that we have differing opinions so she is moving on with NOLA Rejects. I do still have Jake, and he is still waiting!