Lucky Weekend?

Hopefully Hannah's Forever Family will find her this weekend. She and Luci went to Taurus for Doggy Daycare yesterday to run off some energy after being cooped up with the soggy weather (and boggy backyard full of mud!) these past couple of weeks. They came back happy but worn out. Hannah had a relaxing day today but will be getting back out to the adoption site tomorrow. Wish her luck!

January: Another Rollercoaster Month for Hannah

After a happy holidays with our family, Hannah was off to her next trial: boarding with Luci at Taurus Training. We have used Taurus many times for Luci and know that she loves it, so we were very grateful that they made room for Hannah as well while we traveled to Florida for New Year's with the Grandparents.

Hannah did WONDERFUL at Taurus. The staff couldn't say enough good things about her and reported that she played well with all of the other dogs and was loving with all the staff. Many more hearts charmed by sweet Hannah.

The day after we picked the dogs up though, Luci came down with Kennel Cough, which meant that Hannah couldn't go to her adoption day at Lakeline Petsmart as planned that weekend-- another set back! Poor Hannah. But then a lucky break! A family who had met her back in December came looking for her at the Adoption Day and they called us to meet her at home! They came and met her at our house, and she was her normal sweet self. They went home to think about it, and a week later, just when we were lamenting that the ice storm was going to keep her from getting a chance at being adopted that weekend, the family called PawMatch and told them they wanted to adopt Hannah!! The next day, on Saturday, January 12, 2007, they came to take Hannah to her new home. Wow-- what a thrilling day for all of us!

But, a week later on Friday, Febrary 19th we got the call from Holly at PawMatch that it hadn't worked out with that family and they had returned Hannah. PawMatch wondered if we could take Hannah in again for fostering until we could find her a home. Of course we said yes.

So, this weekend we are hoping that Hannah will find her match. She got lots of attention at the Adoption Day yesterday (another yucky, rainy day so the dogs were inside!), and she is out there again today, trying her best.

Pass the word about her, she is still looking for her Forever Home.

Hannah's Big Day!!!

The blog has been slow lately, but not because Hannah hasn't been busy! We have all been working really hard to get her ready for her first Adoption Day (today! but more on that later...). Here is a bit of what she has been working on:

• November 28, 2006: Hannah returned to White Rock Veterinary Hospital for her next set of vaccinations.
• December 3, 2006: Hannah and I met with dog trainer Nancy Cusick of Nancy's Dog Training to figure out what we should be working on next with Hannah.
• December 12, 2006: Hannah got her Rabies vaccination and was spayed at Emancipet.

Hannah continues to be one of the most loyal and devoted dogs we have EVER known. She just loves to be with us so darn much! And reading over this blog, we realize just how much she has learned in the short time she has been with us:

• House Broken
• Crate Trained
• Leash Trained
• Socialized with big and small dogs
• Socialized with kids of all ages
• Socialized with cats and small animals (she rarely chases them now, and then only if they taunt her in to it)
  
• Got over fear of cars
• Learned to share food and toys with other pets
• Learned to "sit" on command
• Recovered completely from her bout with CDV
• Caught up on her vaccinations
• Spayed
  

She is such an amazing dog. The next phase of training we were thinking about was doing some Clicker training and some increased socialization to continue to increase her self-confidence. We are also going to try giving her a job (like carrying water bottles in a backpack on our walks). We have also started using a Gentle Leader head harness for our walks, and we are working on new tricks every day.

Here is some of what we know about Hannah after living with her for two and a half months:

• She LOVES chew toys, just like a puppy!
• She loves to play and be active, but she also loves to be a big couch potato.
• She feels protective of those she loves.
• She will work hard for treats and for praise.
• She is sensitive to reprimands-- it really breaks her heart not to please you!
• She learns quickly and adapts right away to new situations.

So, dear friends of Hannah and this blog, it is finally time for Hannah to begin the search for her Forever Home. Today she went to the PawMatch Adoption Day at PetsMart at Lakeline Mall and she did great!! If it weren't for the rotten weather, she might have even found a home today. We will keep her home tomorrow (again due to weather), and she will be boarding at Taurus next weekend with Luci while the rest of us go to Florida, but beginning in January she will be at Lakeline every Adoption Day until she finds a home. Please send your friends, your families, yourSELVES!-- anyone who may be a great family for Hannah-- to the blog or to the Adoption Site to meet her. Feel free to email us with questions about amazing Hannah.

Let's see if Hannah likes to watch poker on TV...

Make yourself at home...

Hannah surprised us by immediately settling in on the couch the first afternoon she had access to the house. Why rest on the floor when this comfy couch is available?! She is a total cuddle-bug and couch potato at night after a full-energy busy day.

Crate training is going without a hitch. We put a folded blanket on the bottom of her crate after we saw how much she liked a cushy resting space, and she seems quite happy with that. She also gets a treat every time she gets in there. There are no complaints at night or when we are in there now- whew!

It's so exciting to finally see all three dogs out in the yard together!

The wheel of time turns on...

We are left with lovely Hannah, and the focus of this blog will turn to her and her adventures with us from this point on, without the pups. And what a change there already is. Without the dear ones to protect, Hannah bowed down playfully behind the gate at Luci, and seemed to say "let's be friends!". We opened the gate that had separated them for the last month, and Hannah joined the regular flow of our life. We added a crate for her in our bedroom and she is just walking around the house now with our pets. She chases the cats and is a little too interested in the Guinea pigs. But otherwise, it is going well. She and Luci and ancient Jack are learning to share the house, the backyard, and even our attention. We have sent a message to PawMatch to let them know about the pups, but we are tentatively planning on fostering Hannah for a few more weeks until she has recovered fully and is ready to be spayed. I took her to White Rock Veterinary Hospital this morning where everyone fawned over her and remarked how beautiful she is. She rode in the car with me to take Ben to school today, and we started crate training at home. We plan to use these weeks to polish up her manners so that she will be all ready for a wonderful forever family. After everything she has been through, she really deserves it!