It's May Day in Vermont!

Today Mayflower from Conn. became May (or Mae) from Vermont.


The Boys - Tim and Austin - welcomed their new sister and just hope she won't turn out to be as bossy as Myra was. ;-)

Zander Celebrates 2nd Year of Freedom and Family

Zander was found as a stray in Alabama, weighing 11 pounds, starving, mill nose, hair loss, deemed unadoptable. 


Thank you CP for giving my sweet Zander his 2nd chance. He was featured in the 2011 Rags to Riches section of our CP calendar and as you can see by the attached picture, he has made an amazing transformation, physically and in his behavior.




Bonnie in SC, mom to CPs Bea and Neha, foster flunkie mom to Zander

For Spinach, a New Home and a New Name!

Spinach's new Mom reports that all fursibs have accepted "Jay Den" into the family:

I had all three dogs outside walking them when Ron got home.  So he walked Spinach (on the leash) over to us.   Georgie was delighted to see her and they did the meet and greet.  Then Bilbo, and she passed his sniff test. Rook was a little stand offish so I told Ron to take Rook's leash and  then Rook was okay - Rook sort of favors Ron.  They did the sniff test and everythibng was okay. 

We took all 4 for a walk.  Ron had Rook and Spinach and  I had Bilbo and Georgie.  By the time we got back to the house they were friends.  We put them all in the back yard and they played in the back yard.  When we came in she got Rook to play with her and then Gorgie to play with her inside.  The 3 girls are having a lot of fun right now and Bilbo is on the couch just watching.

Again  thank you for all your help.

DeAnne and Ron

A Home for Gem, a Sister for Abbie

Look who arrived at our house on Saturday! This is my new sister, Gem. We are having so much fun. 
Thank you everyone at Col. Potter! 
Love, 
Abbie :) 

Tonight we were watching TV and Abbie (CP's America) hopped up on Jeff's lap and fell
asleep as usual.  Gem hopped up in my lap and she too fell asleep.  I looked over at Jeff and I said, "it doesn't get any better than this."

Hard to believe that Gem was in a shelter.  She is such a sweetheart!  I see she loves to be petted and eagerly rolls over on her back to get a belly rub.  She even let me use the Mars tool on her for a few minutes.

Thank you to you and to Col Potter for letting us have the privilege to
adopt this precious girl.  She is a real "gem."

Nahbi (fka Cree) Blossoms in Furever Home

Hi Mary and CPCRN!

It's been too long since I last sent an update about Nahbi but I wanted to let you know that my girl continues to thrive in her forever home.  It's hard to believe that it's already been over one year since I brought home a frightened little dog who marked over everything.  She's blossomed into a great dog who loves to take walks, go to work with me, play with her doggie friends and get tons of belly rubs (and potty-trained to boot!).  Our life together has been fairly uneventful, which I think has helped Nahbi learn how to let go of some of her old anxieties.  

I believe this is a good thing as the next few months hold in store a few changes.  I was recently admitted into the veterinary program at University of Tennessee and will be moving to Knoxville to start school in August!  Of course, one of the first things I did was go look at apartments that allow pets.  I found a lovely place by the Tennessee River that is close enough to school to allow me to go home during lunch to take Nahbi out for potty breaks.  Knoxville is supposed to be very dog-friendly so I'm looking forward to exploring the city with Nahbi on weekends!

I know I've said this before but I must once again thank you and the folks at Col. Potter for the amazing work you do.  Nahbi has added so much joy and happiness to my life.  Thank you for giving her a chance at a happy forever ending!

Best,
Jean

A Happy Tails Update on Mollie and Arnie

Mollie (fka Yolanda) vs Strangers:  Reserved, yes.  Terrified, no!  She will cozy up to female guests within 15 minutes, male guests take more than an hour...a big improvement over utter terror of my husband for weeks after she arrived in Oct.  Now she loves him, loves on him, jumps up in his lap and licks his face without invite or warning!!!   I am still her favorite person, but she is an equal opportunity love bug.  She walks great on the leash and really enjoys jogging with dear hubby, even if it's just to the mailboxes and back.

Arnie (fka Hector):  Oh so loving and sweet.  He is extremely laid back and approaches guests with a smile and a wag every time.  Dear hubby is his favorite person, but I come in a close second.  If Bob and I are in different rooms you can almost always find Mollie with me and Arnie with Bob.

The furkids have bonded as well and nearly constantly play catch the shadow or leaf or bird or cricket or, best yet, squirrel that happens to make the mistake of encroaching on their territory.  And they both like to pull each others legs by making a sudden tiny dash that sends the other one hurdling off the couch which allows player A to steal player Bs spot, or toy, or lap!  Mollie has much more energy than Arnie and goads him into chase and tug the whiskers when she can.  They both sleep in bed with us; sometimes Mollie crowds Bob off his pillow, sometimes she tries to crowd him off the whole bed in her attempt to lay as close as she can.  Arnie just plops down any old place between us.

Our son took some great photos of the pups and I will post those as soon as he gets them edited and back to me.

Bob and I are deeply in love with our CP kids!!

--
Lynn R

The Woodlands, TX

Box-Sniffing MacKenzie

We have featured several different professions our Cairns have practiced. Here is a new one - as MacKenzie's mom Karen O explains:


I believe our Cairn, MacKenzie (t-shirt girl-allergies) has a possible new profession!  When I was doing some poop pick-up, I looked back on our patio and this is what I saw!  After several years, I finally decided to empty my storage unit and get rid of my teaching materials.  


In the second row, the third box down, is a box filled with sea shells.  Well, MacKenzie, who can find a microscopic speck of food on the ground, somehow sniffed this box from the ground and decided to make her was up to the incriminating box!  She figured out how to jump up from one box to another, because of the way they are stacked in front.  When she found the box, she decided she wasn't high enough and had to get up ot the highest box.  

This girl has NEVER grown-up! LOL 


Karen O
Yuma, AZ
MacKenzie, McDuffy, Starry Night, Holly, and Bree's Mom
 -- 

Cutie Patootie Molly Wahoo

Ladies and gentlemen,  Miss Molly Wahoo.....

Until recently we were a one Cairn family.  Scout was the little guy who was getting all the attention and was loving it. We saw Molly (Wahoo) in January and put in an application for her.  We knew she had heart worms and were willing to wait for her to get her clean bill of health.  For two months we thought her name was Wahoo, two days before we picked her up we found out her name was Molly.  So, Molly Wahoo came to live with us.  Being new to each other I wasn't sure what to expect.   She rode quietly in the car and was good in the hotel also.

When we got home, Scout came out to the street to meet us.  After some sniffing all seemed well.  Once inside, Molly settled in real nice.  She had her toy and didn't bother with Scout's.   She also found her place to hang out and she has a new memory foam bed where she sleeps with her Col. Potter blanket (even I don't have one of those).  She is a daddy's dog, everywhere I go, she is right there and don't even think the word outside.  She runs to the door and wants to almost run everywhere.  She is quick to finish her business and the wants to keep moving.

Molly and Scout don't mind sharing the attention.  They both get plenty.  They don't play together but they don't fight either.  Maybe that's because they are both teenagers (you know how they are).

She is the missing piece to our furmamily.  She learned the routine quickly and has the run of the house with Scout.  She hasn't had any accidents or tore anything up.  She is perfect.

In closing, I would love to thank the Col. Potter Rescue group for all their hard work and especially the foster mom Marie who without her love and devotion this fine young lady might not be with us today.  Becky who came to make sure our home was Cairn ready, Rebecca who checked our references,  Joanne, Director of Placement Services,  Beverly, who pushed the application so we could get her the day we did and Sandy, Post Adoption Coordinator. Without you and all the wonderful people in the network these little bundles of joy may not have the happy homes they have now.

Roger & Janet B

Sunny Winter Haven , Fl.

Kricket Working on Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Award

Kricket is doing fantastic-it seems as if she has always been here. Often she is running around the yard and making circles around Champ--he definitely has been learning how to play with her--at first he didn't know how to take her and wouldn't really engage her, but now he has figured her out a bit and they are having great fun.

She has also met her match with the golden retriever across the street-he is a 1 yo "puppy" and loves to play, and they have been having a couple of rounds of tag with the vocal "play growling" it is very funny to watch. Yesterday Madison (my 11 yo daughter) and I started a training class at the Bucks County SPCA with Kricket, and she is doing very well. Madison has hopes of getting Kricket to pass CGC Award and progress to some agility work, catching a frisbee…..so Kricket wont be bored. We are also working on her being calm when we come home so she is learning that jumping up and carrying on is not going to get our attention. Once she is calm, she gets all the love and attention she could ever ask for.

She is still pulling when we walk, but getting better……no accidents in the house, no problem with other kids, dogs, and she is now respecting the cat and doesn't chase him..the cat will actually sit on the deck when she is there and she doesn't pay him any mind! So progress!!!!!!!

I know she was the best choice for us and I am so glad she was able to come to us, enjoy the photos and video, when we progress in our training I will send you some updates so you can see how much she has grown!

Best Regards,
Sheryl

Aloha from Elroy

Aloha!

Even though we recently had snow, Elroy is ready to hang loose! :) He is doing great! It's so incredible how these animals are able to adapt after everything they have been through. We couldn't have gotten a better dog!

Elroy has graduated to a big boy bed in our room and loves it! He loves when we cook in the evening - always in the ready position to help if anything should drop on the floor. He is such a great addition to our home.

He definitely loves his bed. He was pretty confused about it the first few days, but now he loves getting all wrapped up on it. The first night he actually sat outside the crate to go in and go to bed. :) Smart little guy.

Elroy really enjoys placing himself in locations where he can view everyone and everything. Every once in awhile he tosses his toys around. He loves his life and we love him!

Wendy D

Hey Tasha - Gotcha!

Four years ago, a special someone adopted us to be her very own. It was quite the process, but she finally found us.
We had interest in 3 others at first, all to no avail. Then enters Genna (now Tasha). She never even made it to the available page of the website.  She was just finishing her two week ‘hold’.   Matchmaker Susan was that good!

Genna (Tasha) had been surrendered to a foster home, right here in Oceanside.

We contacted Cathy A, her foster mom and set up a date to meet this little girl.  Well, needless to say, we fell in love! Next came a telephone call from Corinne, Director of Placement Services at that time, and the deal was done.

On April 13, 2007, Susan sent the e-mail saying that we had been approved and that Genna (Tasha) was ours! On April 14^th Tasha came HOME!

With tears in our eyes, we cannot tell everyone how she has enriched our lives and we hope we have done the same to her. Thank you to each and every one of you who played a vital role in getting us our perfect girl.

HAPPY 4^TH GOTCHA DAY MS. TASHA!

-- 

Charlene and Bill M and the T-n-T girls.....Tootsie - Tasha
Oceanside,  CA.
North end of San Diego County

Lily - Another Bright Star Added to the Heavens

This week we sorrowed with Mo as she shared this sad news:

My sweet Lily has gone to the bridge.  I got there in time to hold her before she passed.  She knew I was there, her little tail gave me that oh so familiar wag.  I know she is running free at the bridge with many new playmates and I know that her tail is still wagging.  It was always wagging, no matter what, it wagged even when she was bad.  I will miss my little grey ghost girl but I know she is safe and not in pain.
Mo and the Most Amazing CT fur herd, minus one sweet little girl

Lily was the inspiration for the "Water Lily" - a raised wooden water or food bowl designed for Lily and the problems she had several years ago with drinking water at typical bowl level. Many of us celebrated Lily's life by adding some milk or chicken broth to our cairns' own water dish. Lily was certainly well-loved and happy!

Bosley - Scruffy Cairn Shadow

It's Sunday morning and as i write Bosley is sound asleep at my feet. We were outside earlier gathering up junk that needed to go to the dump. He wasn't quite sure of what was going on.

Bosley has turned a corner for sure with feeling comfortable and part of the pack; we have had him 2 months now. When he first got here he was like static cling to me.  When we had to leave we would put him in his crate. He had such bad separation anxiety he would stress himself out so much he would be sweating. 

He is finally getting that i am more Terrier than he is. When we go out to potty, he must potty. He is now even alerting me and going to the door when he has to go.  we are trying our best to stick to a schedule/routine.

Now he has started telling me its time for bed. he gets right in there and snuggles between John and me, next to Maurice. Happiness is a warm Cairn to wake up to.

Bosley has started to play with Maurice (my toy poodle) and Maurice is even playing back with him. Bosley and Charley(my cocker) are even becoming friends. they tend to lay next to each other and Bos lets Charley sniff and lick him. This is definite progress.

Bosley is really coming out of his shell. he now comes up and gives me a goofy look and wags his tail then bows down and comes over to kiss me. what a charmer.

Our next adventure is to take him boating. we are getting the boat ready so the next sunny day we have we will go out. oh i hope he likes it.

We are going for walks down the property and back. he trotts alongside me. its so nice not having a tugger on the leash.

All in all he is wonderful! we are two peas in a pod. i feel complete again having my scruffy Cairn shadow. He makes me smile, especially when we are driving somewhere and he and Maurice are curled up together just watching me. Each day he comes out a bit more and shows another side of his personality.

Thanks again for giving him his start.  I love him so much.  Happy thoughts and wagging tails.

Kate and Bosley

An Article on Pain in Dogs

Behavioral Signs of Pain
Your dog may be saying “Ouch!”
By Karen B. London, PhD 

For the first couple of weeks, our dog Bugsy enjoyed playing with our foster puppy. Then he changed, tiring of her quickly and often avoiding her, even growling if she approached him while he was on his bed. He stopped playing in the snow with her, and would go to his bed rather than lie next to her on the rug. We figured that when she left, he would stop being sulky and return to his usual upbeat, playful self.

When Bugsy remained grumpy after her departure, we suspected that something was wrong. And it was. The veterinarian determined that he had a partial tear in his anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL (a knee ligament), and was probably in considerable pain. The way Bugsy was acting should have told me that he was hurting, because although most dogs are not obvious about it, there are many behavioral signs of pain.

1. Changes in behavior. Any change can mean something is wrong. If your dog is less energetic or less cheerful than usual, doesn’t engage in the activities he usually enjoys, acts restless, becomes unusually clingy, or stops socializing as much or as happily as he used to, he may be experiencing discomfort.

2. Nighttime grouchiness. Even minor injuries or maladies can be exacerbated by the day’s activities, resulting in a cranky pup in the evening, when things slow down.

3. Good days and bad days. If your dog acts like his normal self some days but is grumpy, aggressive or otherwise different on other days, pain may be the cause.

4. Unusual behavior after strenuous activity. Dogs who exhibit unexpected behavior after they have had more exercise than usual may be in pain. An injury or any kind of soreness may become worse with additional exercise, so if your dog is unpredictably out of sorts on such days, pain may be the culprit.

5. Suddenly behaving aggressively. If a fully mature dog suddenly exhibits aggressive behavior, it may be because he’s in pain. I’m especially alert to the sudden onset of aggression in a dog over the age of four, because dogs that age (or older) with no history of aggression rarely behave this way unless something is wrong. There are exceptions, of course, but out-of-the-blue aggression in an older dog can often be linked to pain, in my experience.

6. Unwilling to play. If a dog who usually takes any opportunity to play with reckless abandon ceases to be interested in playtime, it could be a sign that something hurts.

7. Avoiding other dogs. Sometimes when dogs are in pain, they don’t want other dogs near them, especially if those dogs are young, bouncy or exuberant. If it is inconsistent with a dog’s personality to shy away from other dogs, doing so might mean he’s protecting an already tender area.

8. Loss of appetite. A dog’s refusal to eat, which can have many causes, will almost always result in a trip to the veterinarian. Though sometimes the diagnosis is serious—liver failure or cancer, for example—not eating can also be a sign of pain from other less-alarming conditions.

9. Reacting badly to being touched. If your dog reacts negatively to a touch that he would normally like (or ignore), that reaction may be due to pain. Typical negative reactions include yelping, leaping, whining, licking your hand, pulling away or even growling. A pain based reaction will usually only be displayed when a specific spot is touched.

If you have any reason to suspect that your dog may be in pain, make an appointment to see your vet right away, as we did with Bugsy. It was a relief to know exactly what was going on with him, and to be able to ease his misery. Only a veterinarian can diagnose a medical condition, but with astute observations of the behavioral warning signs, you can help save your dog from 
unnecessary suffering by seeking speedy medical help.

This article first appeared in The Bark, Issue 59, Apr/May 2010

http://www.thebark.com/content/behavioral-signs-pain

Karen B. London, PhD, is a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified 
Pet Dog Trainer who specializes in serious behavioral issues in dogs.

Buddy fka Sainted Riley - Strides in all the Right Directions

Foster Mom Pamela E. says: I received this great update from Sainted Riley, now Buddy's, dad Adam.
It always warms the heart to hear such glowing reports !

Hello! I'm so sorry for not keeping in better touch with you, please accept my apology. Buddy is taking little strides to come out of his shell since we last spoke and each little stride is adorable! 1. He now goes up and down the stairs like a champ. I actually think he enjoys doing it or something because he goes up and down for no reason sometimes it seems like! haha 2. We LOVE to go on walks and now that the weather is HOPEFULLY going to warm up, I am super excited to take him to the dog park so he can run around and make friends and experience that for the first time... He loves to meet new dogs on our walks, which he used to just ignore them. 3. He and Ruby play ALOT more now, they run around back and forth, wrestle, run some more, but Buddy always ends up on his back...on purpose of course. He just always rolls over on his back and lays there and wrestles from his back, very cute 4. He used to not be a fan of riding in the car, but now he likes to come with me when I run short errands, especially if it involves stopping at my brother's to see him, my sister in law and Ruby for a visit 5. Buddy NEVER has any accidents, it is amazing, but I assume that has something to do with him enjoying his set schedule of yummy food and walks and playtime. 6. He's had two haircuts/groomings so far. He isn't such a fan of this but he loves feeling clean and all the pets he gets from everyone about how handsome he looks when it is over! 7. He still doesnt' seem to like to have his picture taken but I will try to get some recent pictures to you asap, promise. Adam

Worth the Wait - A Wonderful Home for Marisela

Foster Mom Bonnie shares this gleeful story:

Thanks to everyone who works so hard to keep Col. Potter rolling along, to all those who work on applications, fundraising, promotions, etc. and those who buy squares on NLOL and other fundraisers.....another little one has been kept safe until her Forever Home could find her.

It's been 602 days since Marisela joined the Col. Potter family. I've just received the okay for Mari to be adopted to a woman who wants Mari knowing that she's not perfect and not beautiful from front to back. Our little Mari will be moving to her own home next week with a Mommy to love and cherish just HER. Mari will get to be the Princess getting all the attention and walks and cuddles. She won't have to share with fosters coming and going. She won't have to share a house with Janna the Mouth. Alan and I will miss her. I've started practicing crying because it's going to be hard to let her go as she seems like family by now as she's been with us since November of 2009. 
This isn't about me or Alan and me...it's about everyone working together to save Cairns. No shelter would have kept Mari around for so long. She was lucky that Col. Potter took her in.

Please keep Mari in your hearts and prayers as she moves to her new home. Her behaviors on walks are not always what they should be and I've told her new Mom that...but we will hope and pray that experiencing it isn't too much.

Thank you all,
Bonnie and Alan, servants to Miss Mari
in OH with Cairns Gilly & Janna 

Elroy Moves to Northern Washington State

Elroy was adopted by a wonderful couple and is now starting on his happily ever after! In fact, they are so wonderful that it made it much easier for me to give him up. They are getting one great little guy, too, and they are crazy about him!


Elroy was transported from California with the help of Kirk J, Suzzane C (their matchmaker), and Carol M just 5 weeks ago. I really fell for him, too, but I am so very happy and thankful that it has worked out so well for them all. 


They are keeping his name as Elroy and he now lives in northern Washington. Thank you to everyone that helped make this happen!

Wendy in Portland, OR

Sweet 16 for Nanny Gina

Gina turned 16 this Feb.  She hates the camera but I was lucky to recently get this picture of her.  We kidnapped her on a transport when she was returned to CP at the age of 13.  We will soon have had her for 3 years and she lives in "HIGH COTTON", believe me!  We love her so.  This is a true testimonial to adopting an older dog.  She still acts as a Mom to Millie and Beamer and loves to bark and chase them around the yard.  She is a hoot!
Joan with Millie, Beamer and Gina in Waleska, GA for the Winter


-- 
Joan with Millie, Beamer and Gina in Waleska, GA for the Winter