Sunday, January 30, 2011

LOST AND FOUND


We will never know the beginning of his story, but we know how it ended. He is 7 months old, brindle and all boston. He was picked up by an animal control officer in the city and secured in the back of a truck and taken to the animal control intake area. He was then placed in a small cage in an over crowded shelter for a required 5 days waiting for his owner to claim him. He did not have a collar or a microchip. A chip would have located his owner, a collar would have required that he wait for 7 days. He was posted on the lost and found pets page for the shelter's web sites. Two little mug shots, one from the front and one from the side. He no longer had a name, just a number.


For the next 5 days, he was left in the cage. He was given food and water, but not let out, exercised nor did he interact with people except those that fed him while in the cage.

No one came to claim him which is the most frustrating and mysterious part of the story. He is young, healthy and well behaved. He was not neutered but seemed well fed and socialized to people.


BTRNC received an e-mail from a volunteer who had seen his little mug shot. Then we waited for the 5 days to expire. We then had to find a foster placement for him. We have many volunteers, but there are never enough foster homes. We often have dogs waiting to come into rescue when a foster home opens. Luckily, a precious boy had just joined his forever family and the foster family was willing to replace him immediately with this little guy.


Since it is much cheaper for rescues to have vet work done at a shelter, we usually go this route. This means however, that we had to wait until the shelter's overworked veterinarian can fit him in for a neuter, full check up and vaccinations. Another 5 days go by, but this little one is no longer endanger of being euthanized. He has been accepted into rescue. He still waits in his cage.


When his turn came for the vet work, he is moved to a different building where he will receive after care, socialization, walks and more human interaction, but it is still a shelter and he still slept in a cage.


The last step was to arrange transport. He traveled 2 hours with his driver, his foster family drove 1.5 hours to meet him and take him home. He is found now and with his foster family getting acclimated to life outside the shelter again.


His foster family has named him Cousin Eddie which I must admit fits him well. The younger generation should google The Adams Family. Your own Boastful Boston was the lucky one who came to get him from the shelter, took him from the arms of a shelter worker into mine, received boston terrier kisses and watched as he stared longingly at the door out! So many e-mails were exchanged throughout this process and we had typed little boy boston so often in the reference line, I just started typing "little boy blue" one day and although he will never know it, that was his name for a few days. Cousin Eddie seems a better fit now that we have met him.


His foster family will soon provide information for a bio on the available dogs page. For now we know that he ignores cats, does his business outside, and prefers the company of people to dogs. This may change as he gets used to being around canine pals, we just don't know yet.


What we do know is that he is adorable, precious, wide eyed (as you can see), safe and found!

P. S. - I took the picture as he sat on my lap in the car and I was unable to see through the lens of the camera. Maybe I should try this technique more often!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

COME SNUGGLES WITH JAMY







The first time I saw Jamy's bio, I thought of comfy pajamas, a blanket and snuggling up for the evening. Turns out, that is pretty close to accurate about our Jamy.

For any of our readers who love the breed, but don't feel up to their normal energy level, and who would prefer to have an only dog this time around but worry they will miss a playmate, Jamy may be your guy.


At 5 years old, he has moved beyond most puppy antics but still has many years to go. Jamy does not care to play with other dogs and would do best as an only "child." Although he has been around young children, he is more comfortable with children over 12. Jamy will be pleased to play with you but only if you start it. He is most happy snuggled up on your lap or under a blanket on the sofa.


All the beauty and charm of a boston terrier, but you actually get to sit down! And this little guy is handsome as can be and fits the standard for the breed. This of course means that he will snore as he gets older if he doesn't already but many find this soothing white noise, you know like a fan or soft radio music.


Jamy does have luxating patellas. This means that he has an increased chance of his knee caps moving from their correct location. Even though light activity decreases this probability, you don't have to treat him like he is fragile. His knees may be fine for the rest of his life and if they do slip out of place, a vet can work with you to determine the best course of treatment.


Like many pure bred bostons, he does have some skin allergies which are easily managed with benadryl. Once Jamy gets to a forever home and his new family work with their vet and try different diets, etc, this issue may become a thing of the past and the benadryl can be discontinued. Stress sometimes makes these conditions worse.
Overall, Jamy has stolen the hearts of his foster family and as you can see, he seems to be pretty happy to have become one of the BTRNC dogs.



Maybe you have been looking for just such a low energy couch potato boston terrier. BYOP - bring your own pajamas and cuddle up with this handsome boy!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

GETTING STRONGER EVERY DAY
AND READY TO PLAY




You may have seen Scampy on our Available Male Dogs page, rear end in the air, nose to the peanut butter filled kong, missing fur on that rear. Scampy had a broken leg before he was picked up by animal control and of course BTRNC got him the care he needs and he is fixed. Don't be leery of his leg injury, once completely heeled, he will be better than new because the joint will be stronger. He is chomping at the bit to run and play hard with his foster siblings. As written before, dogs do not dwell on their limitations as they take each day as a new beginning. Scampy doesn't know there was anything wrong with his leg. Neither will you when you see him run.




I admit I'm not sure that I get the name but I'm sure there is a story to it. Some are just easier to figure out than others. I was the one who named a sanctuary baby, now over the bridge Bee Gee for goodness sakes. Made sense to me - Bee Gee was long for B.G. which stood for big girl. See, perfect sense. If you are not sure about the name either, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you renamed him as long as he got a forever home.




Scampy is one of our fosters that we all wish we got every time. His foster mother reports that he is a "dream dog." Good with dogs AND cats, crate trained, house trained and just an all around wonderful dog. All that Scampy requires is love, food, water, a lap, and peanut butter filled kongs. He will return all that 100 fold for a life time.




I think that 5 years is the perfect age to adopt a rescue, old enough to be a survivor and have learned a few things, and young enough to play hard and fast with you or your other four legged family members. Bostons very often live well into their teens so at 5, many of them are just getting started.

Give Scampy a second look, he may be the one you are looking for!



Saturday, January 08, 2011




THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN






Molly (Margaret) Brown was a passenger on The Titanic. Throughout her life, both before and after the famous cruise, she reinforced her status as a survivor. She was raised very poor and although determined to marry a rich man, she fell in love and married JJ Brown who was as poor as her family. Eventually, JJ came into great wealth when one of his inventions helped change the mining industry. JJ created the ore seam for his employer and was awarded 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board for his efforts.
Although Molly and JJ later separated, neither remarried and they remained close throughout life.

Molly Brown boarded the Titanic as a first class passenger from the French dock. When it sank on April 15, 1912, she assisted many passengers onto life boats before finally taking a seat on Lifeboat 6. She is credited with helping to row the lifeboat and for convincing the crew to return to the site for additional survivors. History is unclear as to whether the boat actually returned or whether survivors were found, but the point is, she tried.

Molly continued to speak for her causes until her death in 1932 at age 65. Her death could have been related to a brain tumor discovered during the autopsy.

Our Molly Brown was rescued with significant health problems stemming from breast cancer and untreated tumors. Very ill and alone, our volunteer got her the vet care she needed and nursed her back to health. Molly was adopted and is now much loved by a Hokie family. Molly recently visited Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech over the holidays. She is the reigning boston terrier in the family.





We think this name and legacy are perfect for this unsinkable little girl who has a home, love, and who takes each day as a gift!






Monday, January 03, 2011

OUR HAWAIIAN FLOWER









Meet Pua which means Hawaiian flower. Pronounced poo a, long o, short a. A beautiful name for this beautiful little flower.



One of our volunteers works at a vet clinic which is very convenient. She was asked and agreed to transport this little girl to the clinic for medical attention from Tennessee. Fate intervened of course and we had our first snow of the season so her arrival was delayed and she ended up at our volunteers house instead of the clinic. As you can guess, she is now fostered with her foster family and canine siblings. She came in very under weight, with severe diarrhea, nasty ears, and long curly nails.




Very patiently, she allowed foster Mom to trim her nails, clean her ears and have a much needed bath. This little angelic girl with the big eyes and curious face emerged. Surprises weren't quite over yet - she went into heat! Not to worry, the boys in residence are neutered as are all of our rescue dogs. Pua, however, will have to wait just a little bit to be spade. We don't spay while in heat unless there is a medical need to do so.



Pua went shopping and picked out her own blanket and bed. Bright orange with skull faces or pumpkins as you prefer on it, thank you very much. She has put on a few pounds, the diarrhea is gone, and she is beginning to learn to play with other dogs and toys! She was a Santa Paws recipient and was completely overwhelmed with joy that the things in that box could be for her!



Santino, a foster, turned forever baby will actually allow Pua to sleep near him. Could he actually like her??? Santino prefers his own space in life!



Pua is petite and has a knack for making everyone who meets her fall completely in love with her including the Boastful Boston. She will soon make her appearance on our available dogs page. If you would like a flower for your very own, let us know. Pua is waiting to meet you!