Update - Maggie finds a foster home!

Could this be love?!

These folks are so wonderful, and they just love our Maggs! They have a cat, so they decided to take Maggie for a "test run" to make sure Maggs and Alex the Cat get along.

Keep your fingers crossed. If all goes well, Maggie will have found the best home on Earth!

Melody - Again

If someone doesn't snatch up this amazing dog soon, I'm going to have to dog-nap her. She's perfect in so many ways!

She loves kids, gets along with other dogs, snuggles like a pro...

That's it. She's coming home with me!

Apple

A great shot of Apple out and about! Gotta love those ears.

Update - He's not much of an underdog!

Our very own Chase has been selected by Animal Planet for the show Underdog to Wonderdog!

A film crew was at PAWS today as a family from upstate New York and the Animal Planet training experts officially adopted Chase. Lucky dog! He'll be living on a farm doing what Shelties were born to do: herding sheep, hanging out with cows and horses, traveling the country attending horse shows, and snuggling at night with two other dogs.

Here, Chase is pictured with the film crew from Underdog.

Now, that's the life!

Update - Fingers (and paws) crossed!

Ruth and Viper, those gorgeous Pennmarydel Foxhounds, may have found their forver home!

Last week, they went into a foster-to-adopt situation, so please keep your fingers crossed for these two sweeties. They deserve the love and affection, not to mention the peace and quiet, that a real home provides!

Slinky

Okay, another favorite. Dandy, Blue, Sweet Pea, and Slinky. Okay? There. I've said the "F" word and I've named names. Happy?

Slinky was pulled from Bridgeport Animal Control about 1 1/2 years ago. He was a mess when he first arrived at PAWS. Skinny. Dull coat. Scabs. Scars. Scared - extremely afraid. He would slink into a corner and stay there. But he would never hurt a fly. Not a nip, not a curled lip. Nothing. You could see the fear in his eyes, but you could also see that he really, truly wanted to believe that you meant no harm. He wanted to trust someone.

Needless to say, it took months for Slinky to come out of his shell and learn that we weren't going to hurt him. That we were going to love him, give him food, medical care, shelter, and help him build his confidence - that was the important element. And, once we gained his trust, we discovered a playful, silly fellow under that sad outer shell.

Now, Slinky stands tall and proud. He plays and walks with confidence and greets people as if they were old friends.

If only all endings were this happy. Now I have to find him THE PERFECT home!

Blue

Okay, we've established that I'm not supposed to have favorites. But here's another of my favorites.

Blue was left at PAWS one morning. Yes, left. Abandoned. In early March. You know, a cold, snowy month? Well, one of the staff found her tied to a fence. (It seemed to be tie-your-dog-to-the-PAWS-fence-week, as another dog was abandoned at PAWS in the same manner that same week.)

Anyway, this beautiful blue-nose pit bull was left for us to find one cold morning. Which is fine by us. Obviously, whoever had her didn't love her as much as we do.

They didn't deserve such a goofy and playful girl. They didn't deserve her snuggles. Why should they benefit from her smile when you walk into the room? She's got a mean case of The Wiggles, too! When she sees you, her wiggle machine engages, she grabs a toy and wiggles her butt all the way across the room until she reaches you. Maybe she just can't wag her tail hard enough, so her whole body ends up wiggling. I don't know, but I love it!

If you can see it in the picture, she's standing on my foot. But I don't mind. If I could, I'd take her home in a heartbeat!

Gizmo & Casey

Gizmo (top) and Casey recently came to us as owner surrenders. What gorgeous dogs!

These beautiful Siberian Huskies are father (Casey, 5 1/2 years) and daughter (Gizmo, 4 years). They've lived with other dogs and very young children, and seem to be very friendly and playful.

Still getting to know them - I'll keep you updated... If they're around long enough!

Chase

Sometimes, I just can't figure out why a dog ends up in a shelter. Okay. All the time. I can never figure it out, but with Chase, I really don't get it.

Chase is a sweet Sheltie who really isn't cut out for shelter life. The noises, the people, other dogs, cats - what are cats?! - it's just not for him. He'd much rather be at home with his doggie siblings, a few kids, a ball or two to fetch, and maybe a comfy dog bed to curl up on at night.

But not a shelter. Oh, noooo.

The first few days were awful for this poor fellow. He didn't eat a thing, he huddled in a corner shaking, and he wouldn't approach anyone. Every little noise sent him jumping and shaking more - if that was possible.

Sweet as can be, he never acted aggressively towards any of us. But he wouldn't take any kind of food from us, either, which was concerning us. Eventually, he took turkey from one volunteer that he recognized after seeing her for a few days. Then, one night, he greeted me with a tail wag - big improvement from huddling in a corner - so I went into his room, closed the door, and put his food bowl right in front of him. I started whispering sweet doggie nothings (nonsensical gibberish to calm him down a bit). He ate! I was thrilled beyond repair!

Chase is typical of his breed; my Aussie would react the same way under the same circumstances. But that's part of the beauty of his breed. They're always watching and learning, waiting to see who's around the corner, who can be trusted, and who will be a friend.

UPDATE! Chase hits it big!