Emma Has Found Her New Home!

I'll do a more thorough post later, but I just wanted to share the good news that thanks to the wonders of the internet and one very persistent animal lover searching the web, Emma has found her forever home. They are currently in Maine but will be moving to the Bay Area soon, so I even get to keep Emma through Christmas which makes me one happy camper. Emma will be joining the family of Jillian and Fowler and their furkids Buckley the dog (pictured) and Balloon the kitty. More info to come (and cute photos of Balloon wearing scarves...). Yeah, Emma and yeah to Jillian for being an internet super sleuth!

Video of Emma Playing

Photographic evidence that Emma DOES play! Actually she plays all the time and this is pretty mild, but I finally made a clip short enough to upload (grrr... technology!). As Emma has been perfecting her "I'm a boring shy little stoney-faced dog" routine while meeting potential adopters lately, I wanted you to see the REAL Emma. Or at least 22 seconds worth!

Why Should I Adopt a "Fostered Rescue Dog"?

Former foster Clare and current foster Emma frolicking in Tahoe

Because I'd really like to see little Miss Emma in her 'forever' home for the holidays, I've been stepping up my efforts to get more people to meet her. I posted her on Craig's List late last week and got a few emails about her, which was nice. However, some people were put off by her adoption fee ($350) , which is set by CARE (the rescue organization) not by me (a volunteer). The fee includes spay, all vaccinations, microchipping and a first vet visit, which is actually a great deal.

More importantly, what it also includes that a shelter does not is the benefit of FOSTERING. Don't get me wrong, if you want to adopt from a shelter you will find many wonderful dogs who really need a home. But fostering is so much more!

SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FOSTERED DOG? First of all, fostered dogs live in private homes, not in shelters. We usually have our own 'forever' dog(s), plus a varying quantity of foster dogs who stay with us anywhere from a week to over a year. I have one forever dog, Brogan and one foster dog, Emma, so she gets a LOT of attention.

SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF ADOPTING A FOSTERED DOG:

1) They are well socialized: Emma goes everywhere dogs are allowed to go. She has been on trains, in stores, beaches, parks, dog-friendly restaurants, dog parks and is a great car rider. When I first got her she was terrified of new situations and threw up every time she went in the car... now she's a pro!

2) A foster volunteer can really tell you about the personality of the dog in a home environment. While shelters do their best and some are better than others, usually it is a very stressful environment for any dog and you won't see the true temperament come out until the dogs settles into its new home (2-4 weeks).

3) One-on-one training: Emma gets daily practice in 'real life' obedience. That's what I call all the stuff that makes a dog fun and easy to live with. House training (though Emma came that way!), crate training, sit, down, stay, off (as in off the bed), up (as in jump into the car) and basic safety commands such as 'don't touch' and 'come'.

4) And probably the most important: LOVE AND SECURITY. For the time Emma is with me, she IS my dog and it's my job to give her all the love and self-confidence I can to help her be the best dog she can be.

The other question I keep getting (because I obviously love the little thing so much), is "Why don't you keep her?". First of all, that's not our goal as foster volunteers. As hard as it is, our 'job' is to love our fosters enough to get them to their 'real' homes. If we kept them all, we couldn't help any more dogs.

Emma is my 17th foster. I did end up keeping #16 (my beautiful pitbull Mama Jodhi who just passed last Christmas), but the others have gone on to have wonderful lives with the people they were meant to be with. I've already written about my friends in Lake Tahoe who 'time share' Brogan when I'm traveling: 9 years ago they adopted the lovely 3 legged Clare, my foster for about four months. Audrey, a pit bull-boxer mix and former foster, has just become an official medical alert service dog for her person, Johanna (yeah, Audrey!!).

In case you are new to the blog, this is NOT EMMA!! This is service dog Audrey.

And the other question I get about Emma is "If she's so great, why have you had her so long?". Good question, complicated answer! Here goes:

1) There are a billion chihuahuas out there for adoption. Along with pitbulls they are the most common breed in shelters. Emma has a LOT of competition and most people want tiny 'purse' dogs. At 12 pounds, Emma is neither a purse dog in size or temperament. She is not tiny and shaky... she has the spirit of a terrier, the heart of a lion and the playfulness of a court jester.

2) Emma is too smart for her own good. She knows she's got a sweet situation right here with Brogan and me. She figures out quite quickly when she's being 'shown off' to a potential adopter and puts on her "I'm a timid little stoney-faced boring dog' act. It's really quite amazing to watch. The Emma you meet as a potential adopter is NOT the Emma I get to enjoy every day, which is one reason I started this blog, where I can talk about the REAL Emma.

3) She needs exercise and does not like tiny children (toddlers). Many people attracted to chihuahuas think they are purse dogs whose feet never need to touch the ground. This is why I stress that Emma has a terrier personality and is really a big dog in a little body. As for the toddler thing, it's just not a good fit. I can only guess that there is some history of bad experiences that she may or may not overcome as she gets older.

4) Finally, I'M PICKY. This is an awesome dog, certainly one of the best fosters I've had, and I'm going to make darn sure she goes to an excellent home where she gets cuddles, walks and trips to the beach!

OK, that's it for my primer on why you should adopt a foster dog. I leave you with my favorite picture of my beloved pit bull, Mama Jodhi. Jodhi came to me as a foster for 'just a week' as her time had run out at the shelter and she was scheduled to be euthanized. She was in the shelter because her own very loving owner had recently passed away. When I first saw her, I thought "That is the most boring dog I've ever seen... the oatmeal of dogs!". Within one week of being out of 'prison', she was the most expressive dog I'd ever seen. Within a few months I knew she was a 'foster dog' in name only. I adopted her at 8 years and she passed at 15. She was the kindest, gentlest soul I've known and a credit to pretty pitties everywhere.

NO MATTER WHAT DOG YOU CHOOSE, PLEASE ADOPT FROM A RESCUE GROUP OR SHELTER AND DON'T BUY FROM DISREPUTABLE 'BREEDERS'.

Emma Starts Her First Training Class

This Saturday Emma started her very first official puppy training class at Happy Tails to You Dog Training in San Jose (www.happytailstoyoudogtraining.com). Owner and prima dog trainer Dawna Caldwell is a long-time supporter of CARE and welcomed Emma as a CARE foster dog despite the fact that at around a year old she's not exactly a puppy anymore.

Emma already is house-trained, crate-trained, walks on leash, knows sit, down, stay, off, up, take it, don't touch and come, but so far I'm the only one she listens to! Plus she is still shy around strangers and a (oddly) a bit nervous around small breed puppies. I thought that putting her in a different setting with other dogs and people where she gets lots of positive reinforcement would be really good for her. And of course, all dog training is really more about training the humans than the dogs.

Even though I've been through over 20 six week long sessions with my various dogs, I've never had a dog like Emma who is an absolute extrovert love bug at home and can turn into a stoney-faced lump when meeting new people (aka potential adopters!). I need to learn get her to show her true coolness to more than a select few humans!

This is my third class with Happy Tails (both of my Rotties went through their Canine Good Citizen training with Dawna) and I totally recommend her classes for being both educational and just plain fun. I can't say that Emma was 100% thrilled with the first class, but I thought she did great and can already tell we will both learn a lot. Who ever gets this little girl as a 'forever dog' will be one lucky camper.

Emma Loves Cats... and not just with a nice Bernaise sauce

During my month-long job hunt and adventure in conquering German as a fifth language in Europe, Brogan and Emma enjoyed nearly five weeks at the Incline Village Doggie Spa (aka my friends' lovely home in Lake Tahoe). My dog Brogan is already considered our 'time share dog' (he has in fact taken their last name, being now officially "Brogan Kennedy" which sounds much nicer than "Brogan Horch) and they have apparently began referring to Emma as "Time Share 2.0". Emma and Milo (above) continued their great love affair and took turns being chaser and chasee as well as just rolling around and having a fun time. And no, Emma didn't shrink from being in the frozen wilderness... she is still 12 pounds. Milo is just a very 'robust' kitty!

The Kennedy's other dog, the three-legged beauty Claire, was not quite so enamored of Emma, having to compete with her for the affections of both Milo and Brogan. The girls did, however, bond over the (fruitless) hunting of squirrels in the forrest, which Brogan finds rather silly when presented with the alternate plan of taking a nice nap in the warm indoors.

Good dog, bad foster mom!

Poor little Emma, she's been having all sorts of fun and her blog has been dead in the water since August. Never fear, Emma is still here! The truth is, she is such a great dog to have around I haven't been all that good about finding her forever home. So, just as a reminder, here is what you need to know about Miss Emma if you might be looking for that perfect pooch to add to your family.

• JUST THE FACTS…
• · About a year old, chihuahua mix, weighs in at 12 pounds.
• · House-trained, crate-trained, walks nicely on leash, calm during car rides, knows sit, down and stay.
• · Good with cats and most other dogs (she prefers boy dogs).
• · Not reactive or nervous (meaning she doesn’t bark a lot!).
• AND NOW FOR THE SPECIAL STUFF…
• · Has super-soft fur and cool expressive ears.
• · Loves to be held on her back and cuddled like a baby.
• · Wacky and playful with her special human and her best dog friends.
• · Great jogging, hiking and beach buddy.
• · Is a quick learner and really fun to train.
• · Prefers to sleep under the covers snuggled next to her human.
• · Walks backwards on her hind legs and says ‘Roo! Roo!’ when she’s REALLY happy!
• DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THIS SPECIAL GIRL’S FOREVER PERSON?
• · Enjoy taking energetic walks or jogs at least once per day.
• · Have a safely enclosed play area (yard or patio).
• · Not regularly leave Emma alone for very long periods of time (i.e. 9+ hrs/day).
• · Be willing to supply (and accept) an endless puppy of puppy kisses for the next 16 or so years.

Sound good? Drop me an email at emily_horch@yahoo.com or call 408 761 1940. Let's talk!

Emma's a Traveling Girl!

We've been having more adventures than I've had time to record them, so here is a kamakazi version of Emma's adventures over the past couple weeks!

Emma and Brogan are all smiles after hiking up a steeeeeep hill.

Emma has turned into a true adventure dog. First Brogan and I began jogging again several weeks ago and Emma asked oh-so-nicely to be able to come along. She is an exceptionally easy dog to walk and has such a good time that I thought, "Why not?". Her enthusiasm was infectious and both Brogan and I got such a kick watching her run from lawn to lawn that we've brought her along every morning since.

The next challenge was hiking. We headed to our favorite hiking spot, McNee Ranch in Montara, just south of Pacifica and Devil's Slide. Neither Brogan and I are currently up to snuff enough for our usual four hour extravaganza, so knowing it would be a short trip made it a perfect opportunity to introduce Emma to real hill hiking.

"Hey, slow down, you pushy little chiwahwahwaaaah!"

Brogan goes off leash, so I gave him a try as 'anchor dog' for Emma, but she was a bit too enthusiastic in her trail blazing and the experiment (above) was short lived. It took her about 30 seconds to get used to going straight up on the slippery sandy cliff trails and then she was leading the way out in front of me. Emma is one intrepid little chi!

Happy hiking dogs.

After a one and a half hour trek we ended our McNee adventure by visiting the horse stables. Emma seemed intrigued by her first horse meeting and the horse was likely wondering why I was holding up a creature the size of his head to meet him. Brogan didn't appreciate me doing the introductions and growled when he felt we were too close to the scary horse... visit over!

A small little dog in a small little sweater in a great BIG forest.

Emma's next adventure was another courtesy of Santa Cruz dog social group Woofers and Walkers. Over a dozen dogs enjoyed a lovely hike near Chaminade Hotel and Spa overlooking Santa Cruz and then lunch on their outdoor patio.

It's the dog tree!

Thanks to organizer Whitney Wilde we were the first guests allowed to dine with their dogs, so all the dogs seemed to know to be on their best behavior. The sun got a bit warm and while the little dogs took refuge under our chairs, we started attaching the bigger dogs to what became 'the dog tree' to give them a shady spot to hang out. Can you believe how good they are all being? And of course, I thought Brogan was the handsomest dog gracing the dog tree!

Emma poses in front of Alamo Square's famous Painted Ladies.

Just yesterday Brogan, Emma and I attended the Alamo Square annual flea market in support of rescue group Rocket Dog. Even though Emma is not a Rocket Dog they let us help out and have a great day (Thank You, Rocket Dog!!). Brogan and I were put in charge of (i.e. put into) the chihuahua pen along with Miss Emma and four other dogs. We spent the next five hours serving as an impromptu chi (and Rottie!) petting zoo and meeting all sorts of people. I got to speak French, Spanish, Italian and German thanks to all the tourists, so it was a great day for both dogs and languages.

When we were finally liberated from our puppy duty, we headed into the square to take advantage of the great dog park and admire the famous San Francisco "Painted Ladies" which face the square. Brogan was a bit camera shy, but Emma was a good sport about letting me snap her photo at end of a long but fun day.

Today was a trip to the beach at Davenport and Bonny Doon where Emma surprised herself by running so enthusiastically after a seagull that she hit the surf without exactly meaning to. After the initial shock, I think she kind of liked it... I guess we'll just have to see if she turns out to be a surfin' dog. To be continued...

Emma thoughtfully contemplates her next adventure.