**Please remember that we are only a foster home for these puppies. These pups are available for adoption through ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation). Please visit their website at www.arf.ab.ca, look under 'Adopt' and then 'Dogs'. You will see them there!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Puppies

Hi there everyone!

Most of you know that I am involved with the Animal Rescue Foundation of Alberta (or ARF for short). We started fostering puppies for them in August and found it to be a wonderful experience for all of us. We are on a break now because of the move but I am still going to PetSmart every Saturday to show off these beauties.
Since ARF is a non-profit organization, all of their supplies need to be donated which brings me here. In light of the season and the giving spirit we are all feeling (wink wink), I am sending out a plea for donations for ARF. I have a list of needed items below or you can send me the money and I will spend every cent on a needed item, promise. Below you will see the secure PayPal account button that will allow you to send me money online. *Please note that I am requesting donations as an individual therefore no tax receipts will be given*

Happy Holidays from ARF video!

Please don't feel like you need to donate, I'm sure the puppies will survive... somehow...(lol, sorry couldn't help it!).

Thank you everyone!
Terry
Contact: luvpups@shaw.ca




Another option is ARF's Creature Comforts Catalogue. Have a look!

 

- X-Pens/Puppy Pens

- Unopened Bags of Premium (Dry) Puppy Food (Pups seem to like Kirkland Puppy food)
- Puppy Collars (Royal Oak Dollarama for $1)

- Chewies (pressed rawhides, Dentabones, pigs ears, hooves - but please, no "knots")
- Baby Gates

- Paper Towels

I have included some adorable pups that are available now!

Luna - Female

Allie - Female

Ace - Male

Bear - Male

Isis - Female

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Fostering with ARF: A new gorgeous puppy!

Hi there!

Well, this has been an interesting two days mostly for Benny. We got a new puppy on Tuesday, she's between 8 and 10 weeks old and we finally got to name a pup! The kids were very excited and we named her Ginger. Her paperwork says she is a Husky cross and I think based on her looks she might have some Akita in her. I feel for Benny, he is such a gentleman because when Ginger 'hit' it was like a tornado for him! He has been trying to mount her for 3 days now (just to assert his dominance) and she fights back tooth and nail. Its adorable because she can actually walk under him when they are both standing up! He lets her bite him but then when she lunges after him he jumps... all four paws actually leave the floor. He has started to really play with her today and is very gentle with her, he is an amazing dog. Unfortunately, the family that was interested in Benny was unable to proceed due to personal reasons but yesterday I received another application from an interested family. He is having his initial visit tomorrow... wish him luck!
I'll be bringing Ginger to PetSmart on Saturday and I'm sure she will be snapped up because she is so adorable. She has slept through the night in her kennel both nights that she had 4 pee accidents yesterday morning and then nothing further. I am on that girl, out pretty much every hour and then I give her a little treat each time she goes to the bathroom outside. I bought new treats specifically for outside training so they know it's special. I got them at Tail Blazers and they are Mini Naturals Wild Rabbit Formula. So far so good!!
I also bought her a split elk antler because it is easier to get the marrow out. Boy, does Benny like that! Well, lets be honest, he likes whatever Ginger has... LOL

Here are a few pictures of our cutie patootie!
Ginger October 05/11

Benny eyeing up the antler

Chilling

Ginger wondering how Benny got all the toys







Monday, September 26, 2011

Fostering with ARF: Busy couple of weeks

Well, the Adopt-a-thon went really well. There were a lot of new puppies, some of them were only 6 weeks old and sooo sweet. I brought Benny with me and right away there was a family interested in him (because he is so beautiful and well behaved of course!). When we brought him home, he started not feeling that great. Within a few days he had a really (and I mean REALLY) snotty nose, no energy and his appetite was down. To make a long story short, he ended up having a weird strain of kennel cough (he wasn't coughing) and probably nasal mites which were both highly contageous. He was started on the right medication and he has very quickly recovered. We are so happy. Honestly, this boy was a snot fest and let's put it this way... they don't use a kleenex to blow. LOL

We have had to make this family wait until Benny was well because they have another pup to introduce to him. Hopefully we can get them all together really soon and Benny can find his forever home!

The word on the street is that when Benny is adopted we will be getting two 8 week old pups, they are so sweet!

One really cool thing happened today with Benny to show just how amazing dogs are. Julia was sitting on the couch looking at Benny and he was looking at her. Julia had been sad this morning. Benny then looked away and looked at me. I said to him, "Benny, Julia is sad". All of a sudden, he got up from his day bed, walked over to Julia, jumped up on the couch (which he has never done in front of me because he knows he isn't allowed) and started to lick Julia's face. He then put his head on her lap and just stayed there for a minute before I shooed him off. Is that not a brilliant pup??

Anyway, that has been our past week or so. Here are a couple of pics of Benny and the new puppies.

Love this picture taken by the ARF photographer

He's getting to be a tall boy!!

6 week old pup... gawd... xo

Looking down on the 6 weekers. Just fluff balls!


Have a wonderful week and I'll be in touch again soon!
Terry

Monday, September 12, 2011

Fostering with ARF: Taro found her home!

We are so happy that Taro has found her family! They saw her at PetSmart a week and a half ago and took her home today. On her day visit with them, they took  her to the river and she loved it! She was so tired when she got home that she just lay on the floor and barely moved for the rest of the night! She has filled out and is a beautiful solid pup now. She is going to be a terrific dog for this family.

So... that leaves us with Benny. He is goofy, fun, playful, loving. He puts his whole nose in the water dish and then looks at you as if to say, "my nose it wet". He also digs in his water dish outside until all the water is gone. Thankfully, he only does that in the outside dish! He slips on everything, he's built like a moose... loooong, lanky legs and he's surprised us a few times by getting upstairs. He even woke Emily up one morning (imagine her surprise!).

We will be getting another puppy (a young one this time) as soon as they are spade/neutered.

There is an adopt-a-thon on Saturday September 17/11 at Southcenter mall from 10-4. We will be there with Benny and I understand there will probably be a lot of small pups there too. This adopt-a-thon will include many different rescues so if you are interested in any animals, come out and see if you find what you are looking for!


Here are a couple of cute pictures of Benny. What a character!!!

Benny feeling lazy

Just looking cute

I love when he lays like this


Well, I'm signing off for today. So far this is such a wonderful experience. We are meeting some great people and having a lot of fun!

Take care,
Terry & David

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Fostering with ARF: A new arrival!

Well, being a one puppy house didn't last long because we were asked to take on another pup. I felt Taro was a little lonely here so I didn't mind having another puppy at all! This pup's name is Benny and he appears to be only a few days younger than Taro so they are both 3 1/2 months (almost 4).
Taro got her 3rd vaccination in the parking lot at PetSmart which was a little different from what I'm used to in the hospital!! LOL
We have had to deworm the puppies again but that is no bother as well. It is so nice outside the pups just spend most of their time playing with eachother or lounging outside. Benny seems to be more of a better match for Taro than Kara was. They both seem to love to play and they are both pretty much the same size.
The first day we brought Benny home I put the food out (as I always did) and Benny proceeded to inhale his, then inhaled Taro's and then when I put more out for Taro, he went after that as well! I put an SOS out to my ARF contact about what to do but before she answered, David had it figured out... whew! Benny is now better at eating his own. We are working on tricks for Benny, he can sit and lay down and we are working on shaking a paw.
Taro is a black and white shepherd mix and Benny is a black/white/beige husky/shepherd mix.
We have an initial visit set up for Taro today, we are excited for her. She is going to make some family a terrific dog! Good luck Taro!!
Taro relaxing after a play

Taro & Benny playing


Benny just checking things out

Okay, now he's comfortable! Sit Benny!!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

...and then there was one!

Hi everyone!

What a great time we've been having. The puppies are growing fast, really fast! They are so playful with eachother and us. This has been an amazing experience for us so far!

It is with great happiness that I get to announce that Kara found her forever home and was officially adopted this afternoon. We will miss her soft fuzzy head and her gentle ways but her new family is truly perfect for her. I am excited to watch her progress into a beautiful big dog. For her special departure, we bought a going away outfit... okay, Julia was with me and I'm a big sucker. LOL

Taro is still with us and it is so much fun to watch her. She is so interested in learning, so keen. She also really loves to please. She has never had an accident yet and we are really happy about that. When we ask her to do her tricks, she goes through her whole repetoire without being prompted! LOL
We say 'sit' and she sits, shakes both paws, lays down and rolls over... she must love her treats!
We have given her bully sticks but she chews through those pretty fast so now we are trying a Elk antler. Those are 'supposed' to last forever. I guess we'll see with this chewer!

Here are some pics to enjoy!






Have a terrific day!

Terry


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Our First week!

This has been such a fun week! The puppies have been sleeping well, eating well and playing very well. The love chewing on their bones and other toys. We need to be on top of it because they will also chew on our furniture, deck and tables...LOL
The are more or less house broken with the odd accident. They are training quickly with sit, lay down and shake a paw as perfect tricks and now we are starting with roll over. It is so much fun to see their progress!
They have been getting into more stuff especially digging in the yard. We try to squirt them with water when they are doing this because obviously we don't want holes everywhere. I also give them their bones to distract their mouth and that seems to work too.
They play together for hours. That is one reason why I am so happy to have two although once one of them finds a home, we will probably just foster one at a time and see how that goes.

Terry

Kara on August 22/11

Taro on August 22/11

Friday, August 19, 2011

A busy day

I'm writing this posting a little late but better late than never! The pups have been awesome, sleeping well, playing, napping. They are learning their 'sit' and 'lay down' commands better and we are just starting 'shake a paw'. They are very smart and learn quickly. We had some friends come over to see them today and they slept for most of it...lol. They love laying in the sun or shade, anything to be outside. Taro is learning a little better to walk on a leash, she is scared of big trucks and needs a cuddle when they come by. Kara is still tuckered quickly on a leash. They certainly love their treats!
I've decided to start letting them graze instead of eating specific meals. The lady from ARF said that I can try that if I want. Because they have been food deprived, they should have an endless supply (to a point). They eat when they are hungry and leave it when they aren't, they are so good.
We went out last night and left the kids in charge. They did a great job especially when the hail storm came through and the pups were scared!

They woke up last night at 4am but just went out and came back in to sleep.

This is Kara after too much Pepsi! lol





Here's to another fun day!

Terry


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Day #2 done!

This was another great day! The pups slept from 11pm to 6am and then they were up! I was really happy that they slept so long. We had them in our room in their kennels because they were whining downstairs. We were told that we may need to be in our room for the first few nights just to remind them that they aren't alone.
All in all the day was awesome. They played together, romped all over eachother... it was funny to watch. The whole day only produced one pee accident and that was because I wasn't watching first thing in the AM.
It is quite a shock from going from never having had a dog to two puppies and 4 kids. LOL
They are so cute though that it makes all the work worth while. Its great that its summer because the dogs spend a lot of time outside with the kids.
Nathan still runs when the dogs are trying to play with him and of course then the dogs chase him which makes him scared. We need to work on that LOL.

Well, that ends another day in the Boyle house. Enjoy the video of the pups playing!

Terry

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Our First Day!

Wow! What a day. Our two little girls pups arrived this afternoon named Taro and Kara. They arrived in less that stellar shape after suffering motion sickness in the vehicle. After a bath and a romp outside in the backyard they were happy and ready for anything!
Taro (black & white) is an energetic 3 1/2 month old. She already whines at the back door to go outside which is awesome! Kara is a little more reserved and quiet although has enough kisses for everyone. She had one accident right by the back door (good try Kara!) and has managed to make it outside the rest of the time. They love to play and walk up to eachother once in a while just to make sure the other one is there. They even give eachother kisses which I haven't seen dogs do before...so sweet.


It is now 1045pm and we are headed up stairs soon. Hopefully all will go well tonight, wishful thinking?? Hahahaa

Wish us luck!
Terry

Monday, August 15, 2011

Awaiting Tomorrow

Well, tomorrow is the day we get our first 2 puppies! What we know about the pups: they are between 8 and 12 weeks old, they have been rescued from a reserve and they are in need of a lot of love. We are so excited to meet them and start training. It's going to be a huge adjustment but we are looking forward to working with ARF and helping these puppies on their way.