Adopted Dog Monday!

Oh wow, we have a lot to celebrate today!

Dakota, a mid-aged husky mix was adopted by her fosters. Dakota has/had some pretty serious dog-dog aggression issues and Ed and Edith have worked very hard with her over the many months. They have made tremendous progress and hope that next year Dakota will be able to handle having a foster dog in their home. Congratulations, Dakota!

Missy, a black lab mix, has been patiently waiting for her new mom to get settled in a new place so that she could finally go home. That day has come and the adoption is final. Congratulations, Missy!





Clyde was returned to PH after a short adoption last month when he did not get along with the resident dog (not Clyde's fault). He moved to a new foster home, where it just so happens that one of the neighbors had been following Clyde on Petfinder. They ran into Clyde and his fosters on a walk and the rest, as they say, is history. Congratulations, Clyde!



Decey, a hound mix, has been officially adopted by his foster-with-intent family after spending several weeks settling into his new digs. Congratulations, Decey!





Abbie, a black lab mix, had a couple of interested parties come to meet her at our adoption event on Saturday. She picked a young couple to claim as her very own and enjoyed her first adopted dog shopping trip at Petco before they headed out on Saturday. Congratulations, Abbie!




Baxter, a maltese, has had a lot of interest during his short time in foster care and this weekend he went home with a wonderful new family. Congratulations, Baxter!





Louie, a three-legged sheltie mix, was adopted this weekend. His new mom has had her eye on him for a couple of weeks. Congratulations, Louie!






Eli, a Jack Russell Terrier, has been in foster care of over a year. He's a timid guy with a multitude of behavior quirks, but his foster has stuck with him and he has made tremendous progress. Of course, after bonding with Eli and helping him to come so far there was no way that she could let him go, so Eli has been officially adopted by his foster mom. Congratulations, Eli!



Maisey, a beagle, was adopted by a PH volunteer. He was helping out at an adoption event handling a different foster dog when he fell in love with little Maisey. Her new dad works from home and she has a brother to play with. Congratulations, Maisey!

Happy Hounds

Pet Haven has some great hound mixes in foster care right now. Hounds are generally known for being nose-driven and rather stubborn about it. They can also be rather vocal, with their signature hound bay-ing, but these three boys are wonderful hound ambassadors. They embody that which is great about hounds, without being too nose-driven or too loud. Any one of them would make a wonderful addition to a family who loves almost everything about hounds. Plus, how can you resist those ears?

Top to bottom:

Clyde (top) is a 4 year old Tree Walking Coonhound. He is convinced he is a lap dog.

Leroy (middle) is estimated to be 3 years old. He is convinced he is a sled dog (but so easy to walk with a gentle leader!).

Decey (bottom) is a 1 year old hound mix. He is convinced he is a small dog (as he has been spotted trying to nap in the cat's bed).





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Decey: Happy hound hoping for a home

Decey is a young hound mix who has been hanging out in foster care for several months now. We have had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about this fine boy during his stay in Pet Haven care. His current foster took him through Obedience 1 at The Canine Coach and Decey "graduated" last week. He did great and picks up commands very quickly. He now has a firm grasp on "Watch me" and "leave it" and the basic sit and stay. He really impressed his foster mom. "Come" was a different story as he has to sniff everything zig-zagging from point A to point B. He is SMART!

Decey has been tested with free roam a few times when his foster mom has left the house . She makes her own dog food and Decey took the opportunity to feast. He opened the mini fridge, which does not have any handle on it and scarfed down all the meat in there. He can pull the door from the kitchen to the basement open by putting his paw through the cat door and pulling towards him. Told you he was SMART! Decey is kenneled when foster mom is gone now. When she first got him, he hated the kennel but she worked on making it a happy place for him and he is better now. He can certainly differenciate when you are home and he is free from when you are not home and he is free. He never gets in trouble when you are around, even in the next room. He rarely barks unless he feels like joining on with resident fur brother, Zorro, when someone is walking a dog by.

He was really bothersome to the cats at first, but "leave it" has worked and he ignores them. He is a frumpy moving dog, no abrupt motions, he just kinda slinks around. He gets right up into the dog van without wanting to take off in the neighborhood and does well riding in the car. The dog park, on the other hand, has not gone well, he takes off and no command or treat can get him back. He likes to chase small to medium sized dogs that are fetching and chases and picks fights with them. He's not interested enough in playing his own game of fetch or frisbee to distract him from the other dogs. He is good with his canine foster brother, he did well in boarding with other dogs and does well with the other dogs at our adoption events. Odds are the dog park is just too stimulating for him. Decey has jumped the 4' fence at his foster home a few times, but the novelty seems to have worn off. He is a hound, though, and his forever family will need to have a secure fence and monitor him or use a tie out. Decey and his nose cannot be trusted in an unfenced yard. He walks well with Gentle Leader but pulls like a sled dog on regular collar.

He is submissive (OK, not at the dog park). When a dog puts him in his place at first he would pee, but he wouldn't take off, he still would want to be around. Somehow submissive and fearless at the same time. He is funny, if you tell him to do something and he really doesn't want to he blinks really hard or yawns. He may have learned this from his foster brother who pulls the same move, Zorro isn't confessing to any coaching. He is a dream with clipping nails and brushing, foster mom wishes he could coach his foster brother on that one! At night he sleeps on the bed with the rest of his foster family. He is not a cuddly dog, but if you pick him up and set him in your lap, he will fall asleep while you pet him. He's a growing puppy who doesn't know his own size and foster mom has caught him attemping to curl up in the cats' bed (good luck with that, Decey!).

If Decey sounds like the boy for you, please email pethavendogs@yahoo.com to learn more about him.

Decey: Loving life in foster care

Hello Again, my name is Decey. I am a 10-month-old German Sheppard – Hound mix. I am shy guy at first, but warm up to people really quickly. I moved into my foster home right before Christmas, it was a crazy time and I met lots of new people. I was such a good boy that Santa even brought me some new toys and a candy-cane bone.

I am having lots of fun with my foster brother and sister, Tobie and Riley. They are labs, Riley has a lot of energy and we love chasing each other around the yard. My foster parents also have a cat, I haven’t actually met him yet but I am very curious about him…if he would only come out of the basement…

My foster parents also have this strange invention called a TV which I have really taken a liking too. Sometimes they even let me sit on the sofa with them and watch football or Cops. I have to ask permission first though. We were really sad when the Vikings blew it in the playoffs.

I am learning a lot and know all the basic commands. I am even working on high-5, I am not so sure about that one yet though. I have also even gotten used to being in my kennel during the day while my foster parents are gone. I really love my foster home, but would really like a permanent family of my own and would love to meet you.

If you are interested in learning more about Decey, please email pethavendogs@yhaoo.com

Decey: A Happy Hound

Hey everybody! My name is Decey, and as you can see I'm a pretty handsome guy (if I do say so myself). I'm eight months old and a shepherd/hound mix, and I've come to Pet Haven from Iowa to find my forever home. I'm currently residing at Pampered Pooch – there aren't quite enough foster families, so that's where I call home for the time being. Everyone is really nice there, and I have a foster buddy who comes to see me every other day. I get really excited when I see her and give her a great big hug.

On Saturday, I even got to go out for the day for a walk around Lake Calhoun! At first, I wasn't so sure what to make of the walk – there were people walking and running by, and some were even on bikes! I haven't had a whole lot of leash training yet, and I'm a little on the shy side, so it was a lot to take in at first. But guess what? After awhile, I really got the hang of it and was walking on the leash like a pro! My foster buddy was so proud of me she took me across the street to Chuck & Don's pet store to pick out a couple treats! I made lots of friends there – even a parrot that told me I was a "good dog."

I'm a really sweet, loving boy who is ready to find my family. I'd love to meet you sometime. Thanks for reading my entry; I'll write again soon!

If you would like to learn more about Decey, please email pethavendogs@yahoo.com.