Welcome Custer!

On Friday we welcomed Custer into our home as foster dog #8! Custer is an awesome 1.5 year old American Bulldog/St Bernard mix. At least, that's our best guess :)

He has an endearing underbite, wrinkly smooshy skin, and grunts and snores...sounds like a bulldog to me :) He has a very happy go lucky nature and is generally quite calm. Give him a bone, and he will lay there for hours in happiness! He is good with other dogs, cats, and kids. He is happy to go into his crate and is learning potty training quite quickly. He paces at the door to tell us he needs to go! He love love loves belly rubs and wants to be close to his humans, head in their lap, every chance he can get. He does bark a bit when he sees new dogs across the street or when he hears our crazy dog barking, but otherwise is quite quiet. Unless you count the snoring. And that's just adorable haha.

You may notice that Custer is a little pink. He is fighting mange right now, but he is looking SO much better than we he first came to JR's! He gets a special bath every 2 weeks, and also eats special sensitive skin food to help him grow back his luscious coat :). The first two pictures on this blog are actually of Custer two weeks ago. You can already see the difference!  Custer has demodex mange, which is NOT contagious and is generally easy to treat. Just some TLC and baths and he'll be all good :) We gave him his first bath here yesterday and he stood still the whole time and waited to shake off until we were all done! Easy peasy!

 I know I say this every time but...I can't believe this guy hasn't found a forever home yet! Check out these awesome pictures of Custer loving life :)

This is when Curtis first met Custer at a Petco event a few
weeks ago. We knew that we would need to bring him
home as soon as we had a free spot :) 

Squishy Face!

My favorite! Look at that happy face! 

Oh those teeth...

BIG  smiles! 

Custer doing what he loves most, getting love! 

Bridgett found her forever home!!!!

I forgot to make a post about my special Bridgie!

Our sweet girl found her forever home with a wonderful lady named Joy :) We couldn't have asked for a better fit, it was SO worth the wait. Bridgett tends to be a bit barky when new people walk towards her, but when Joy walked up to her (outside and in the dark) she was all tail wags and happiness. She knew right away :) Then Joy came into the house with us and I swear, Bridgett forgot all about me. She sat by her, flopped over by her feet...I was chopped liver....and I loved it! I was so proud of her! When it was time to leave, Bridgett looked back at us as she walked out the door and then happily trotted away with Joy. We watched her walk down the street, happy as can be. I was in tears but oh so happy :)

Not only is Joy a great fit for Bridgett, but she's also an awesome adopter that has given me TONS of updates on Bridgett, it's so wonderful to see her fitting in to her new home :) She has been renamed Bennie and is LOVING her new fenced in yard and big comfy dog bed. She even met a 3 year old on her way home, when they stopped at a friends house, and guess what? She loved him!

I'm so happy for my Bridgie Boo....have a great life girl!  :)

A Word from Bridgett

Hi everyone! Bridgett here! I wanted have a word with you all, because my foster mom says I've been quite popular lately, but people have been passing me up after learning more about me. I think that's okay, because they made good choices for their family and for me. But it is a little disappointing. I'm getting awfully attached to my life here, but a REAL for life home is my main goal. My foster mom swears that she has posted all my quirks and good things equally, but let's just go over them again, for repetition sake.

Let's do my quirks first.

1) I'm a bit protective. It's my breed! I bark when I hear/see people outside but am easily calmed by a pat on the head. When new people come in to my home, I may bark at them as well. My foster mom always hands them treats to give to me though, and tells me that they are nice people, and I calm down pretty quickly. I don't want to hurt them at all, but I do want to notify my foster mom and dad that someone new is here, just in case. 

2) This also applies to new dogs, to some extent. I LOVE my foster brother, he's my surrogate baby. But one time, this new dog came into my house, and I wasn't so pleased. I barked at her and growled a little to show her who was the boss of the house. My silly foster mom probably should have introduced us outside first. Ugh, that lady. I have shown her that with proper and slow introductions, other dogs don't bother me. So I just ask that if you DO have another dog and dog friends, that you take the time to let me get to know them first. 

3) One time, I met a little kid. A 3 year old. You know how they can be...running around and being loud. Like a non fluffy puppy, for goodness sakes! I wasn't too excited about her. Her sudden movements made me nervous and a little grumbly. But in my defense, I had JUST arrived in Wisconsin all the way from Alabama and was feeling quite stressed in general. I think a respectful, older child would be just fine. 

Now, I don't want to sound too full of myself here, but I definitely have some great qualities! I LOVE belly rubs (my foster mom says its impossible to walk by me without giving me a quick rub down!). I'm potty trained and whine when it's time to go outside. I do not try to jump on the couches or beds, I'm a floor and dog bed kinda gal. Oh and I don't jump on people either! I'm happy to just wiggle my butt and tail in happiness. I love to run and play with my foster brother and takes walks outdoors but I'm also quite content to just lay around all day. Whatever you want to do really. My foster mom is always raving about my eyes and my old soul. She has long conversations with me about life and she always says, "I swear, you're listening!" Well, I am! I love my companions and love it when they talk to me and let me follow them around the house. I greet my foster parents with the cutest whines and "chewbaca noises" when they come home for the day. Oh, and have I mentioned my good looks? Okay okay, I've bragged enough. My foster mom just had a little "photo shoot" with me and kept telling me how beautiful I was the whole time, so my ego inflated a bit. ;) 

Now, if you're still interested in me, that's awesome! I'd love to meet you! Fill out an application at jrspupsnstuff.org or, if you are already an approved adopter, emailed info@jrspupsnstuff.org to let them know you are interested in me! 

A Day In The Life of Bridgett!

6:30 am-- Wake up! That's right, Bridgett's an early bird! She sleeps in our room with us at night and promptly wakes us up with little whines and woofs in the morning. Sometimes she lets us sleep in a bit. Sometimes the cat wakes her earlier. I think they're in cahoots. ;) As soon as I open our door, Bridgett runs, happily woofing and making funny chewbaca noises, all the way to the front door! Outside, here we come!

6:45am-- Chow time! Bridgett eats 3 cups of dog food to keep her svelte beautiful figure ;) She munches down, grabs a few slurps of water, and then...

7:00am-- Mom says, "Back upstairs!" and the dogs run back up to our bedroom. That's right, WE are NOT morning people. So we crawl back in bed, the dogs lay back down, and we catch a few more Zzz's.

9:00am-- Or somewhere around this time...we are awoken to the sounds of wrestling dogs at our feet. Bridgett and her foster brother tell us, "C'mon lazy bums!" and we wake up! We go outside potty again and Bridgett curls up by the front door while we make coffee and breakfast. (Did I mention she's completely potty trained?! First foster EVER that came to us that way, what a blessing!)

9:30am-12pm-- It's lazy time :) Bridgett finds a place to curl up (her favorites are the front door or her too small dog bed upstairs. She spends her time dreaming, a little bit of snoring, and picking up her head to watch us walk by. She does like to be in the same room as us for the most part, so she'll follow us and pick a new spot to snooze. Life is good. This nap time is interspersed with random play bouts with Dexter and pets and love from mom and dad. And guarding the house with her 'BIG GIRL' bark whenever she hears something awry. We feel pretty safe with this gentle giant ;)

Working on our "sit" command!

Bridgett has perfected the "play bow" pose :)

12:30pm- Walk! Walk! Every time we take a potty break, Bridgett tries to get us to go on a walk. So eventually we appease her. She's really been digging this cold weather. She enjoys taking lots of sniff breaks and sticking her head in the air to feel the cool breeze rustle her fur. And the best thing? She only needs to go around a block or two, and she feels good. It doesn't take much for this lazy gal ;) She also enjoys the dog park, and loves to run and play with the other dogs and her humans. Now that I know she does well there, I've been trying to go at least once a week. She's in her glory :)

1:00pm-- After a walk, our pup is a bit riled up and wants to PLAY. Bridgett is happy to wrestle and chase him around the house. 20 minutes or so, and they are panting and happy :)

1:30pm-6:00pm-- Sleep. Bridgett loves sleep. 

What do you mean, I don't fit? 

6:30pm- Food time again! Another 3 cups for this lovely lady!

7:00-whenever we decide to go to bed! -- Sleep. Pets. Love. A bit of play here and there. Follow mom and dad around.

Bedtime- one last potty break and mom says, "Upstairs!" Bridgett and Dexter run up to our bedroom and settle down quite nicely. It's been another good dog day. :)

If you think you'd like to spend a day or two....or forever....with Bridgett, please fill out an application at jrspupsnstuff.org today!

Bridgett's Day at the Dog Park

Today, I was headed out the door with our Dexter for a trip to the dog park. I toyed with the thought of bringing Bridgett along. Can I handle both of them at once? She was a little weird with other dogs at Petco, should I try again? I decided against taking her. But as I was headed to the door, there was Bridgett, squirming and smiling and giving me her best little show, "Please mom, please!" Darn dogs...

So we all loaded up into the car and I hoped for the best. And I got it! She trotted into the park without a problem, loose wagging tail, open mouth smiles, all the positive body language she could handle. (This leads me to really believe that her "testiness" at Petco was due to the high stress location and potentially being on a leash) She especially loved a dalmatian and lab mix friend that followed us around. She ran (more like...loped slowly) and sniffed her little heart out. She even tried digging a few times, but mostly just did it to get a rise out me, play bowing and darting away. ("Bridgett! Do you want a bath when we get home!")

I was so proud of her and she was wonderfully happy the whole time. And she has been passed out for almost 3 hours now, with little more than a pick up of her head and a tail way when I walk by. Now that's one good dog :)

Enjoy some pictures of Bridgett at the park today. If interested, fill out an application at jrspupsnstuff.org today! And please feel free to share Bridgett's story with your friends to help her find her forever home! :)

One happy girl :) 

Bridgett found some friends that love sniffing
as much as she does! 

Bridgett and her best buddy, Dexter