Newton Update

I do apologize for the late update...but it's a good one!

Last weekend I made it to So Cal Dachshund Rescue's "Hallowiener" event.  It was the usual adoption fair along with a few reasons that make me confused on why dogs put up with us humans at all  (ie doxie races, a costume contest, and eating contest--these were for the dogs, not people).  Dachshund people truly are a whole class of people unto themselves.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking them, but if you don't have a wiener dog, you really can't understand what the big deal is.

When I arrived Newton was already being held by someone, which really shouldn't have surprised me in the least.  Like me, the woman snuggling him couldn't adopt him, but just couldn't resist carrying him around and hugging him.  Once she got her fix, I got mine.  And then while I moved on to another doxie who gave me those big brown eyes I'm a sucker for, I set Newton down so he could be adored by others who could be his potential new guardians.

When I returned from walking the other doxie, I found Newton in yet again someone else's arms--this time a young girl's.  The volunteers were really nice when I told them I had been the transporter and that's why I came to visit, and they let me get inside the pens to hang out with the adoptees--something I think only official volunteers and children did.  I certainly didn't see anyone else my age stepping into a penned in area, plunking down, and allowing themselves to get accosted by dachshund attention.

Mom Auditions

A couple hours later (yes, I did watch the races, and even snuck a look at the eating contest), I noticed Newton was not back in the pen.  He was still in that young girl's arms.  I went over to greet Newton and say my final good-byes when I struck up a conversation with the girl's mother.  Indeed, he had stolen both their hearts, and they were adopting him.  In only one week's time, Newton went from the Wasco shelter on death row to the arms of a little girl who will love him for the rest of his life.

New Mom

I don't always get to know what happens to those I transport, so I was ecstatic to not only get to know, but be there when his new beginning actually happened.  Newton had already moved into his foster family's home, been to the vet's and given a clean bill of heath at 10 months old, had his balls snipped off, and got himself a forever family, all in a week's time.  The family that wanted him wasn't even going to go to the event (they were work friends with one of the rescuers), but at the last minute decided to go, never knowing they would meet the new love of their lives.  Life really is all about being in the right place at the right time.  Just like the transport that seemed to be miraculously smooth, Newton's transition from homeless canine to adored pocket pup and family companion was easier than anyone could imagine.

I wish you the best in your new life, Newton.  Thanks for sharing the road with me for a time.

-stephanie.

PS--here's also a couple of pics of Newton, his new best friend, the Ugly Dachshund, and other photos.  By the way, I thought the way this adoption fair was run was awesome!  Rather than dogs in individual cages, they were put together in pens (although I contended that NONE of the dachshunds I ever had would have been contained by those fences--they would have been jumped over and pushed over in only a matter minutes).  It allowed children to play with them, and we all know that's the key to getting a dog adopted:  get the kid on your side, and the parents are a breeze.:)

Newton & Cheyenne Travel Adventures 10/10/2009

"I love it when a plan comes together!" as Hannibal from the A-Team would say.  And it's not because a new remake is in the works that I mention this, but truly a transport rounder involving two or more rescue organizations, three planes, seven dogs (was it 7?  how many were there, Patti?) and close to a dozen people is quite an accomplishment.  Clearly we had the right team, the right timing, and the universe on our side.  Even me working a job in my second-to-least favorite area for commuting purposes worked out for the best because it allowed me to pick up Cheyenne Friday night, kicking us off to an early start.

(Surprisingly Cheyenne finds my lap more comfortable than her own seat. )

I wanted to say thanks to all for involved in the transport.  Everyone did their part and despite minor time changes, it ran smoothly.  It was my first experience with Pilots n Paws, and I must say these guys (and gals) rock!  For any situation, once you involve a private plane and pilot, the situation moves up a few notches in the cool factor.  While Cindy was packing up the plane, some people saw the Kern County dogs in crates that she was loading up and asked if she was transporting "like Pilots N Paws".  She confirmed that not only was it like Pilots N Paws, but WAS Pilots N Paws!  The people were totally excited to meet Cindy and witness the transport in action.  They even got a few pics together with the pups.

With a little creativity, Cindy managed to fit all of Cheyenne's accessories onboard along with the five dogs. I hope it was a good flight for Cheyenne.  She didn't get a lap to sit on, so I'm sure no matter what it was a disappointment for her, but it certainly was a shorter ride than any of us land-locked transporters could have done.

Many thanks to Larry at Wasco who went above and beyond by bringing little Newton with him when he left the shelter for the day so he didn't have to wait for me to drive up there.  I met little Newtown at an AM/PM only eight miles from the airfield!  That truly is dedication!  And my goodness, I thought Cheyenne was tiny--Newton is micoscopic.

He was soooo sweet, but a little scared.  He wasn't skittish though; he just let you move him about, resigned to be on this adventure but not really taking an active role.  Because he went straight from Larry's arms to mine and then my lap (he didn't like being all alone on the passenger seat, and in all honesty he looked like the tiniest island in a vast ocean on that seat), that I didn't get a good look at him till I got to the second airfield of the day where I was to meet Patti who was picking up the Brittany Spaniels.

(For some reason, a plane in any picture makes it infinitely more cool. )

Newton really is sweet.  I can't even think of a better word for him.  Every now and again when I smiled at him, I'd hear a little twack-thwack of his tail against the car door returning my sentiment.  At the airfield I set him down in the grass to see if he had to pee, but he just stood there, tail between his legs.  I tried to persuade him to walk, but he wasn't in the mood.  Larry said he was brought in when he was hit by a car, but could walk perfectly fine.  I'm sure he's just a little scared to walk for fear of something large like a car striking him down.  Physically he's fine.  Dave, one of the pilots on Patti's transport, made an excellent observation when he saw me carrying Newton around.  He pointed out, "Well I wouldn't walk either if I had someone willing to carry me around all day!"  Point taken. ☺

But honestly, it's a little hard NOT to want to carry little Newton around all day.  Maybe I was just excited to have a dog I COULD carry, but it also was because he was just so sweet I wanted to hug him the whole time!

I hope he gets a home soon.  I wish I could meet him again when he's less shy and willing to come out of his shell.  I can see why he was a shelter favorite.  I got him to roll over and allow me give him some belly rubs, and he did walk around for a short time while Patti coordinated the next leg of her adventure in her car.

When I returned to hand Newton over to Patti (he's so tiny I could just pass him through the driver's side window), I got to see the perfect portrait of a dog transporter, the moment before the calm settles in and the drive actually happens.  My camera had died so I couldn't capture it on film, but I don't even know if a still would do it justice.  Patti sat in the driver's seat with one Brittany behind her in the back seat fluffing up the comforter and another standing on the passenger seat.  She had a phone in one hand, the GPS in the other, typing in the directions she was getting on the phone, while Newton sat on her lap and the Brittany tripped on the console, braced himself on the steering wheel, set the windshield wipers going, and oh, did I mention her right blinker was on the whole time?  And all the while, Patti sat in complete calm, the eye of the storm, typing on her GPS as the windshield wipers continued their motion, the blinker kept demanding the car turn left, and the dog beside her persisted panting, his tongue dripping drool onto her steering wheel.  It was beautiful!  I tried to laugh softly to not add to the chaos, but I couldn't help myself.  Luckily most dogs are like babies:  once the car is in motion, they fall asleep.  I'm sure Newton did.

Here are some pics, and let me know if you ever have any transport needs.  I can only take one at time, unless they're Newton-sized and I know they get along with one another since all I have is my passenger seat.

Dena, when will Newton be ready to be adopted?   I like to send out the link to people when any of my transports are up for adoption.

Thanks again everyone!  The plan really did come together!

-stephanie.

Cheyenne Overnight

 Hi Patti,

I usually take pics of the pups I overnight and give an overview of the nights and travels we've spent together.  However, since Cheyenne is blessed enough to already be in her forever home, it seems a bit odd for me to write about someone else's dog.  But I'll do it anyway.

I must admit that I had gotten used to the pit bulls.  A meandering stroll for a pit bull and me would take an hour or so, whereas the Italian greyhound can do the route in half the time.  She really does walk at quite a clip, as if she's slicing through space and time with that extraordinarily thin body.  It really was a much more aerobic exercise for me.

Opposites

 And she can jump!  I like to block off the doorway between my bedroom and office when I have overnight guests of the canine persuasion, just to keep them in one room when it's time for bed.  Even with the medium-sized dogs, using a half-opened lounge chair laid sideways works well.  This time I used an eighteen inch wide shelf I had handy, thinking since she was smaller, I could use a smaller hurdle.  But as if to mock me when I placed it in the doorway, I heard a quiet rustle, turned, and found Cheyenne atop my bed, having done a three foot vertical leap from the floor.

The Princess

The Princess and the Ball

 She may have a pink collar and someone thought it proper to paint her toenails, and although I admit she is a beautiful dog, she by no means is a lady.  Oh sure, she crosses her front legs when she lies down atop her giant leopard print blanket, but that growl is a little deeper (thank goodness!  I hate yippy barks) than a lady's.  And I was surprised, but glad, to see that the large dog toys I had were no problem for her.  The last pittie I had destroyed a few, so I had bought large ones to replace those.  Fittingly, one of them was pink; a large pink sheep that probably outweighed Cheyenne, but no matter: she attacked that with the fury and determination of any large breed dog.  She was the first dog in some time in my apartment that really loved fetch.  She might even be into the agility games if given the chance.  She really enjoyed taking a flying leap to catch the rope or sheep.  It actually was the first time in months I had a dog who liked the game "chase the toy" better than the game "destroy the toy".

"Oh yeah, that's good sheep."

  

I laid her giant blanket down for her to sleep on, but you were right:  nothing beats being under the covers.  She did burrow under a towel I gave her on the blanket so she could make a neat little sleeping bag for herself, but she was only content with that for an hour.  My goodness, I have gotten so used to the sixty-pounders clodding about on the bed and refusing to give me space that I barely registered it when she lightly sprung up onto me.

I did however register that it wasn't that she wanted to be cuddled so much as she just wanted to be warm.  I stopped her from getting way down to the end of the bed because I really was concerned that she might suffocate (and the general rule is I sleep under the covers while they sleep on top of the covers), so instead she huddled under two pillows I wasn't currently using, and fell asleep.  She really didn't care if I was there or not.

She proved that point in the morning.  I am get out of bed quickly in the morning with the shelter dogs who crash here for the night since I don't want them to pee in the bedroom, and because in general, they are pretty quick to alert me that this is the first task of the day:  going outside.  Cheyenne, however, didn't need to.  I lifted the pillow to make sure she was still breathing under there, she blinked a sleepy eye at me and then fell back to sleep.  I got up, and once fully out of the bed, she moved over to the newly vacated hot spot under the covers, circled five times, and lied down so the only evidence of her was the white tip of her tail poking out from under the sheets.

Once I was out of the bathroom though, she was ready to go outside.  Again, the fast-paced trot cut back on the time needed to walk her.  It truly was a different experience than what I've been used to.  Having "who's more stubborn?" contests with the pit bulls who feel like sitting down instead of walking or want to go in the opposite direction using the force of gravity to their advantage is quite different than walking a dog who I can barely feel at the end of the leash and looks like she's moving quickly even when she's stationary.

Thanks for letting me overnight her.  Aside from it working out for the best in timing and convenience, I really do enjoy the opportunity to spend more than an hour and half car rides with these pups.

 Here are the pics from our overnight; transport pics to come shortly.

-stephanie.

Dogs & Planes

Plans don't always work, but every now and again they do and then far exceed anyone's expectations.  It all began when Nimmi, who I had transported the rat terrier for a while back, contacted me about another rat terrier that needed to go to Bakersfield.  I agreed to take her.  Then she asked if I could also take an Italian greyhound who needed a lift.  I had to say no, I couldn't do both, but which one is more urgent, or should she find someone who could take both?

That question got me hooked up with Patti, who is a Transport Queen.  She had a few other transports going on that day and was actually fostering the greyhound named Cheyenne.  Oddly, the rat terrier transport was canceled, but Cheyenne still needed to go and Patti had other transports that day.  I was working in Culver City (my most loathed commute freelancing...), which conveniently made me about ten minutes from Patti's place.  So, I picked up Cheyenne Friday night after work so could I bring her to Bakersfield Saturday morning.

The coolest part, the reason I was even more excited than usual, was that I would be delivering little Cheyenne to Cindy, a pilot with the organization Pilots N Paws.  This little dog wouldn't just be hitting the road, but she'd be taking to the skies.  I'd get to take my charge to an airfield.  Transporting is a fun and worthwhile endeavor, but I have to say something about adding a Cessna into the equation just makes it infinitely cooler.

And I wouldn't just be taking a dog to a plane, but I'd be picking up another dog just around the corner from the airfield, and be driving him back to Patti.  In fact, we were scheduled to meet at ANOTHER airfield, one in the San Fernando Valley, where she was picking up and dropping off a few dogs.  I would drive Newton, my second charge for the day, to Patti and she would drive him to his foster home for Southern California Dachshund Rescue.

Saturday was looking to be a pretty cool day for me: Wake up with a dog by my side, take her to an airfield, see Pilots N Paws in action, pick up a doxie mix for the hundred mile trek back, go to yet another airfield, meet some more pilots, and then have a relaxing Saturday evening.  It may not be everyone's perfect day, but it sure seemed like it would be mine.