Do You Remember Ollie the Puggle? Well, Today is His 2nd Birthday!!!

Do you remember Ollie the huggable puggle that arrived to us sort of unexpectedly? Well, it's his birthday!!! He is 2 years old on October 18th!!! Here is an update we got from his Mommy along with some recent pics of him with his siblings, his trainer & of course, Ollie as the "fur piece"!

"Ollie came to us from a wonderful foster home. However the first 17 months of his life were not wonderful. We did not know all the details of Ollie's life before he came to us. But it is clear he was poorly treated. Ollie was head shy, reserved, fearful. He resisited affection. He had some socialization because of his foster parents but had a long way to go. However, it was so obvious he craved love, attention and affection.

On the second night Ollie was with us he cried and I put him in bed with our Harley and me. Harley is Ollie's Frenchie mix sister. The next day was Easter and we had company so it was stressful and tiring for Ollie, so I picked him up. He was tense but I held him and kissed him and his head fell forward and he was asleep. From that point he was bonded to me.

Now at the same time that Ollie came to us, we also adopted Noah who was very ill. Noah needed alot of care to get him on his feet. I think in a way that was good, odd to say I know. But in caring for Noah, Noah bonded and Ollie saw that. Harley was very loving to Noah and she also welcomed Ollie in. Each day as Noah got stronger and all three played, they bonded as a pack.

Harley is a very loving dog. She is a world class kisser. Noah one day asked to get in on a kissing fest. And after awhile, Ollie asked to get in. Over time a very sad little boy became a very loving boy. He is a kissing machine and Ollie has bonded to the rest of the family now as well. At first he needed me. Now we are all his family. He sleeps on my sister and her husband when I am not home. She holds and cuddles him and each afternoon my brother in law takes a nap (at 80 you can do that !!) and he calls out "Ollie, nap time!!!" and Ollie runs in and jumps on his lap and they take a nap together. Ollie's nick name is fur piece because he spends so much time sitting on my shoulder. He loves to nap like a baby on my shoulder.

Ollie is a very active boy and sometimes at bedtime he is not ready to settle in. On a night like that, Harley kisses him to sleep. He just loves that! Ollie sleeps with Harley, Noah and me. A few nights ago Harley had a little tummy trouble and she had some reflux. I had to change her pillow case and settle her back down. To do this I had to turn the light on. The reflux scared Harley. So I picked her up and rocked her and then settled her back into bed on her pillow and covered her up. Both Ollie and Noah moved in close to Harley so that both were up against her to comfort her while she went back to sleep. All three are very physical with each other meaning that they cuddle and snuggle together and with us. You would think they were from the same litter and had never been apart with closely bonded they are!

Today, Ollie is a happy, care free boy. He greets everyone who comes to my house with great joy. He loves company. He kisses everyone. He hugs everyone. He plays with the other dogs in the neighborhood. He plays with the kids as well. Everyone knows Ollie, Harley and Noah. No one is afraid to approach them. The joke in our house is that no one comes to see us, they come to see the dogs. Ollie has a special fan club. He is a favorite of my neighbor whose name is Jason. Jason holds Ollie and cuddles him and tells him he loves him. One day I had to tell Jason to leave the Puggle at the door and no one would get hurt, as he tried to leave with our baby!!! Another big fan of Ollie's is Will. Will is 15 and loves Ollie, too. Ollie cuddles extremely well with him.

Ollie graduated from school. The trainer said he has done so well especially given that the original place he came from, where he was crated all the time, was the worst form of cruelty they could be inflicted upon a dog. To see him happy and learning week to week made the trainer feel good.

If you meet Ollie now, there is only one trace of the place he lived for 17 months. He remains head shy if you approach head first too fast. But he immediatly relaxes into the caress of a gentle hand. I think this is habit now and not fear. The same movement from the side or under does not get that reaction. He runs from no one. He runs to everyone for a hug and kiss. Last night was my sister's birthday and we had company. My niece and her boy friend stayed after everyone else left. We sat in the living room to watch TV. All three dogs cuddled on the sofa with us and went to sleep. My niece and her boyfriend are in the top 10 favorite people list with all three dogs.

Ollie is smart, sweet, loving, cuddley, playful, impish. Ollie is fun and who ever had him before has no idea what they gave up and what they are missing. I would not miss this time with Ollie for any thing. We love him, adore him and are proud that he is ours. He was meant to be our baby. Ollie is home."

Oh little Ollie, how you have grown... how you have become what you were meant to be. Today & every day we thank Heaven for Ollie's forever family!!!

Petey the Puggle Puppy Has Been Adopted!!!

Petey has been adopted by a warm & loving family!!! Petey will have 3 new 2-legged siblings, 1 new 4-legged feline sibling, a new mommy & a new daddy. Petey will also have a whole neighborhood full of children to worship him & fulfill all his needs in terms of entertainment!!! His new family has already begun taking turns walking him & figuring out who gets a turn & when... Oh Petey, we will miss you... sweet little boy!!! We hope you will be a good boy for your new family & make them very
proud of you as you grow into a big, strong boy!!! Make sure to remember your tricks & make sure to go to the door when you have to go potty. Most of all, always make sure to give back all the love that is given to you!!! You are a sweet little boy who is now in his forever home... Make sure to write us & tell us how you are doing!!!
With much love,
frogdog blogeressa

Petey the Puppy Has Now Been Neutered & Microchipped... He is ready for his forever family to come & wisk him away!!!

Petey is now ready to go home to his forever family. Petey has been completely vetted, neutered, microchipped, vaccinated & behavior has been analyzed. He's perfectly healthy & perfectly loveable & huggable!!! The qualities that we are looking for in Petey's forever family are:

1. A family where someone is home during the day to take care of Petey. Petey does not like to be alone, he is just a puppy. He will cry to be with someone or another furry friend (cat, dog). Therefore, a stay at home person or someone that is retired is the best home for Petey. That said, Petey does sleep well in his crate at night & doesn't fuss much unless he has to go potty... that's how you know he has to go because he'll wake up in the morning around 7am to go outside.


2. A family that understands that puppies need special TLC. This puppy has already been through a lot in his little life. Petey's forever family must be patient, kind & full of appreciation for the love that Petey gives. We think he is a really special boy & we're hoping to find a forever family that will think that of Petey, too!


3. A family that will walk him & play with him & spend lots of time with him. He needs more care than a dog because he is still a puppy who needs to have his forever family's training imprinted upon him. While he is pretty good with his housetraining & knows to go to the door or cry when he is in his crate, he still needs guidance & a careful nuturing parent(s) to help him finish off his housetraining.


4. A family that has either a completely fenced in yard or will commit to walking him regularly since he is just a puppy & needs to have his housetraining reinforced. Electric fences are not fences that truly contain a dog... we have found that most dogs behind electric fences will take a "hit" & keep running... especially spunky ones.


5. A family that will take excellent care of him through regular annual veterinarian exams & recognizing any signs of illness/disease & bringing him in for any medical attention he may need.


6. A family that will make a commitment to Petey to be his family for the rest of his life. We are looking for stability for Petey as he is not a throw away puppy. He needs to know that the family is his until his last breath because he deserves that. He is one of a kind!!!

If you can make these commitments to Petey, please email us for an adoption application. We require veterinarian references and we will do a home visit for potential adopting families with Petey so that he can meet all the family members in the household & everyone can make sure it's a perfect match.

Petey is a very special, outgoing, loveable & funny puppy... he loves all dogs, children & other pets & he is spunky & full of zest for life. Petey is approximately 16 pounds but a growing baby boy & we estimate that he will get to be about 25 pounds when he is full grown. He loves to eat, loves snacks & tries very hard to please you. He is athletic & hardly ever overexerts himself when he plays. He would really love to belong to a family where he could sleep in a warm bed when he is 100% housetrained & maybe have a furry companion to keep him company when his family is away. He is truly a happy boy & while we will miss him horribly when he goes home, we are so excited for his promising future... he will make a wonderful addition to his new forever family's home!!!

Update on Petey the Puggle Puppy

It turns out after we tracked down Petey's purchase record from the puppy store, that Petey was born on November 10, 2007. That makes Petey 5 months & a few days old, which is great news since that means that Petey can be neutered any day now & go on to his forever home.

Petey went to see Dr. Wayland today at Bethany Veterinary Hospital. He had a heartworm test - he's negative, hoo-ray!!! So we'll start him on his heartgard immediately. He also had his last puppy vaccine (dis/hep/par/parvo) & he had his rabies 3-year vaccine. This means that Petey is all up to date on his shots and doesn't need to have anything else until a year from today. Petey is also having an internal parasite exam lab done to make sure he doesn't have any kind of little wormy-worms hangin' out. We'll know what the deal is with that test by tomorrow when Dr. Wayland calls us. Petey also got some Frontline & we will put that on him as well to keep the buggie-bugz off. While Petey was at the hospital, he also had a nail trimming (a pedicure as Dr. Wayland likes to call it) & was weighed. Believe it or not, the little bouncing baby boy put on some weight & he officially weighs 14.5 pounds!

So, with a clean bill of health, Petey has been scheduled for his neuter & microchipping for Tuesday, April 22, 2008... that means Petey can officially go home to his forever family soon after that.

Do you want to apply for Petey? If so, please email us & we will send you an adoption application as well as inform you on how the process for Petey's adoption will work. Typically, a vet reference & home visit with Petey are required & there is an adoption fee for Petey. The adoption fee won't cover all of our expenses for Petey's transport to Connecticut, his medical care, his vaccines, microchipping & neutering... not to mention sundries such as new harness, collar, leash & food... but it helps take the sting out (so to speak) of the amount that we have paid to help him go home to a forever loving family where he will be loved unconditionally... which is the most important thing to us & what our ultimate goal is.

We'll update Petey's blog tomorrow with some fresh pics & info on his internal parasite exam lab!!! Stay tuned...

Petey the Pokey Puggle Puppy Arrives in Fostercare!!!

Here is Petey the pokey little puggle puppy. Petey is 3 months old & hails from Virginia Beach, VA.

Petey's owners were going to send him to the pound when her husband said he didn't want the dog & was going to kill him. A good samaritan who is also a friend of one of our fellow FBRN volunteers rescued him but it turned out that her son became allergic to Petey because he has asthma. So we arranged for Petey to be transported by one of our other fellow FBRN volunteers who picked Petey up from the good samaritan & then we met them over the Virginia line to pick Petey up & bring him home. Let me tell you, we can really move dogs, like we're paid to do it... but it's just because we care for their well being... that's why we're rescue!!!

Petey is approximately 7-9 pounds & he is just the sweetest little thing ever. He loves the car & rides like a professional, we didn't even have to belt the little guy in. Over the next few days we're trying to locate his vet records, see whether he is chipped & get him vetted so we can make sure he is in tip-top adoptable shape for his new forever family...

Do you want to adopt Petey? He'll be available soon so keep this blog bookmarked!!!

Ollie Has Been Adopted!!!

Little Ollie has flown the coop (a few pics on his new comfy sofa)...
Ollie has gone to live with a wonderful family in which he will have two k-9 siblings & one fe-line sibling. His new mommy is a registered nurse so she will know exactly how to gently administer Ollie's ear medicine that he currently needs & also how to handle him gently as she addresses his flinching & cowering issues that are slowly being unravelled. Here are a few notes from Ollie's new mom:

"Ollie is at work with me today. Right now he is napping in a bed I have here for him. He played nicely by himself this morning while I was pushing through paper work. Then had lunch with us. Now he is having a nap. But I know he will be happy to go home and play with his new furry siblings. Ollie has bonded well with us and he is just such a love and I am very happy he is here. Just a funny note: Last night we all pile into bed. Ollie's furry brother took his half out of the center. Ollie's furry sister is in her usual spot. Ollie cuddles up between her and me with his head on her butt, using it as a pillow. Suddenly she lets out a snort and begins to snore. Ollie gets up and looks at me like "I can't sleep with her snoring like that". He gets up and sees his furry brother and goes and cuddles up to him only to have him start a reverse sneeze that rocked the room with gross stuff coming out his nose. Ollie jumps up and shoots me a look like "my God what was that and how am I supposed to sleep with that noise ?" So I picked him up and tucked him back in with me. But his face was priceless!!! He could not beleive the noises they were making."

"Ollie is doing so well. He and his new furry sister are playing and running through the house. More company last night and he was so good. He is eating well, taking his ear wash and ear drops pretty well (Ollie was discovered to have a bad ear infection). He is head shy for sure but we gently cover his eyes with one hand and talk him through and he does well. He cried a little the first night while in his crate to sleep. I let him cry for a short time to see if he would settle down on his own but he did not not. So into bed he came and he slept the rest of the night with his furry sister and me. She was Ok with it so Ollie slept with us last night as well. He cuddles well in bed and sleeps all night. He is a good boy. Ollie met my neighbor's English Bull Dog yesterday and did great. He loves other dogs and he has been good with the kids he has met. Ollie has also found his feline brother. He was under the bed so Ollie got under with him. They were fine. Ollie likes shopping as much as his furry sister does. He had a sports jersey on for company yesterday and looked so cute. He and his furry brother have matching coats."

Congratulations, Ollie!!! You are going to be spoiled rotten in your forever home... like the little prince you rightfully are!!!

Ollie is Looking Forward to His New Home!!!

A few days into being at our bootcamp, we've come to see that Ollie is, indeed, a good little boy! He knows where to go potty & how to do tricks for treats. His basic commands "come" "sit" "down" are perfect. We have not seen any type of incessant chewing behavior from Ollie. However, we have provided Ollie with many nylabones & chew toys to work on when he is bored. His housetraining is very good. We have not seen any bad behaviors in that area. Ollie does exhibit some flinching & cowering to the ground behavior when he is petted/picked up. This is starting to ease up as the days go on. We can describe more of this behavior to anyone interested in adopting Ollie. One naughty behavior we've seen from Ollie is his barking for attention. We've been using techniques that our trainer taught us & the barking seems to have died down. This barking is a sign of a dog that has not been given much attention & so he uses barking to get that attention - even if it is negative. What Ollie will need from his adopting family is a lot of love & attention to help him overcome his past. Ollie seems to be in good health, although he is not up to date on his rabies shot & we will make sure he receives that shot in the next day or so. Ollie is microchipped & all his other shots are up to date, minus bordatella (kennel cough), which is owner elective & since he is in foster care & not being kennelled, there is no reason to give him this vaccine at this point in time.

Welcome Oliver... the huggable puggle!!!

Meet Oliver, now affectionately dubbed "Ollie". Ollie is a puggle & an adorable one at that. He is now 1 year & 5 months old & weighs approximately 25 pounds. Ollie's owner surrendered as Ollie's training had been somewhat difficult for the family to manage & with the lack of time they had for Ollie... well let's just say it put everyone's stress level over the edge. It is said that Ollie's housebreaking has been difficult ~ even patchy & that he has problems with incessant chewing of things that he should not chew on. These characteristics will be evaluated & addressed to make Ollie a whole dog again.

Ollie was surrendered to the our bootcamp in order to be retrained, resocialized & reset his mindset so that he can go on to his forever home. Once Ollie is completely evaluated as to all said issues & those issues have been addressed, he will be put up for adoption. If these issues are not something that needs extensive retraining, he will be put up for adoption within a short amount of time.