The gang from the Vancouver SPCA

[growler~GateKeeper]

Night sure is a cutie for her

Rottie bum wiggles are so cute for Sasha's pending

[Scuba]

Played with Jack and Marcus back at the shelter too. They are now sharing one kennel together. Somehow they managed to double team me and cornered me on the bench in the little room just off the courtyard. Then they proceeded to aggressively lick my face. Marcus got on the bench and was kind of on my lap and Jack was standing in front of me with his paws on my shoulder. I think I am going to need therapy after this. They were also playing with each other and I was chucking some balls for them. An orange rubber one and a oversized tennis ball. Marcus was kind of greedy trying to hog all the toys. However he couldn't get it into his little doggie brain that to pick the other ball up, he first has to drop the other one that is firmly lodged in his mouth. When he finally does goes for the other one, you can see the confusion on his face as he looks at the ball that was previously in his mouth rolls around on the floor. Jack is happy and contend with just one, didn't mind if it was the big tennis one or the rubber orange. Marcus even though I will toss a ball for him is only interested in the one that I toss for Jack.

[Scuba]

I also visited Kisses in her kennel, got in and played with her for a bit. She rolled over and showed me her stomach so I also gave her a nice tummy rub. Then we played with some of her toys. I helped rescued some of her toys that were in danger of rolling into the drain. After a little bit of playing together with her rope toy she went back to her crate and laid down in it chewing away at the rope toy so I left her alone to enjoy her favorite toy in peace. Oh yeah she also brought out this stuff toy for me (not sure what it was, kind hard to tell what it is in its state) from her crate whilst we were playing. Just dropped it in front of me, such a sweetheart.

Also had the chance to towel Tony off after he got into the kiddie pool. (I thought he was adoption pending ) The big guy also got me all wet, well my jeans and shirt. Jack and Marcus took care of my face. Jack also kind of killed this stuffed Panda. Panda

[Rottielover]

Such a typical rottie, all clowns....
I am crossing fingers she goes into the perfect home for her.

[Scuba]

Here is a picture of Tony, he looks pretty small in this picture but in reality he is a big guy and his coat is pretty thick.

[Scuba]

Here is what I have been waiting for for almost two weeks now. I have been going online to the Vancouver SPCA website everyday in the morning and evening. The thing is that the shelter staff don't handle the website and adoption stuff online so often times the stuff takes a long time or are incorrect.

Anyhow, here is the long awaited picture of my little buddy Marcus.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Handsome Tony is he still listed as pending?

Awwwwww Marcus Too Cute! I wanna kiss his cute little nose

[chico2]

Awww Marcus,he has a wonderful face,no wonder you're in love.

[Scuba]

On the SPCA website there was a new picture of Tony so...

Unfortunately he is still at the shelter, I guess that "Adoption Pending" notice kind of fell through. Didn't have a chance to walk him tonight but I did go up and say hi to the big fellow.

[Scuba]

The first dog that I walked tonight was a girl named, Muffin. I think she was a stray. She is still very puppy like. Quite timid and shy to new things and situations. Very friendly and playful though once she gets comfortable. At first she didn't even want to go for a walk with me. Once we were out of the gate at the shelter, she wanted to turn around and head back. I kind of just let her be until she settled down then we went for a walk. There were bursts of running in between the walking as well. Good thing she is kind of short. If she was a little taller, I would be hard pushed to keep up. She really liked picking up and chewing on dried pine cones during our walk/run session. We would be going along and all of a sudden she would pick one up, lay down and "crunch crunch crunch".

She definitely likes to be cuddled. Also on the way back to the shelter, she picked up this stick that was longer that she was and didn't want to let go of it. So, for a few blocks she kept whacking me in the shin with it. Back in her kennel she kept wanting me to play with her as well, didn't want to let me leave.

[Scuba]

Second dog that I walked was Jack. Please look to earlier page for his picture.

Jack was really easy to walk, even though he had been for an earlier walk he still had loads of energy. I brought a long this furry red and white striped ball that had a squeaker for Jack on our walk. He was a little, just a little bit, just a tiny little bit crazy for that thing. At one street corner, he was barking his head off at me to let him have it. People were looking at me funny, of course none of them understood what a play bow was and when he was barking at me, his tail was also going at like a 100 miles an hour side to side. Of course I didn't give him his toy until I got a sit and a stay from him. He was such a nutter.

He did the same thing as muffin, kept leaning and standing up against the kennel cage door when I tried to leave after our walk.

[Scuba]

A nice lady took Marcus out tonight and I just had to say hi to the guy. He is still a puppy but a very big one at that. The problem is that he thinks he is a lapdog. I got my face and ears well cleaned again tonight.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Muffin is a real cutie

Nice image of Jacks' play bow goin' nuts for a toy

Must be so hard to walk away after :sad:, I upset just walking in the front door of shelters.

[Stewart]

Scuba hi ! After sifting through your pics with tears running (I am a big softie) I must say there are some wonderfull looking faces and as for Tony if it wasnt for a big gap between me and him I would have loved to have met him he looks like a a real gem I hope the Fella gets what he deserves a great home with a great new pack ! Smitten

[mollywog]

I just came across this thread for the first time.
Scuba, for doing what you do! These dogs are so lucky to have invested volunteers such as yourself.
I would love to do something like this but unfortunately I live in such a small town and all we have is a "dog catcher"... wonder if I could get a program going!?
Do you have any dogs of your own at home? I would want to take every one of them home if I were you!!!

[Scuba]

GROWLER - Yeah, sometimes it is pretty sad going home after spending a couple of hours with them.

STEWART - Tony is pretty cool, there has been some kennel aggression but otherwise he is really good. He has got a beautiful coat, it feels really soft to the touch.

MOLLYWOG - Right now I don't have the adequate time that I feel is needed for me to have a dog at the moment. It would be unfair for them if I can't invest enough time into them if I became their owner. Hence why I volunteer at my local SPCA. I was hoping to get some canaries this past week, one of my mates had some eggs, but it turns out none of them were fertilised and his little canary hen was just sitting on them for like over a month due to some instinctive need. Also there are definitely quite a few of the boys or girls that I would so loved to have taken home with me but I will wait for when the time is right.

[Scuba]

Marcus, has been fostered by Bully Buddies[/COLOR]
Jack got adopted out

I am not sure about Sasha, she wasn't around and I couldn't find a staff who knew what the situation with her was. Probably been adopted though, she was always such a clown.

Haven't seen Tanga in a while either, got to ask about her as well next time.

[Scuba]

These guys were sharing a kennel together, I am not sure what their background is. There was not a lot of information on the kennel. Their names are Rocky and Hank. Both of them are pretty laid back and easy going. Walks on leash well, but neither of them seem to know any verbal commands. They don't even response to their names.

I was walking Hank tonight, near the end of our walk we did run into the girl who was walking Rocky and we walked back to the shelter together.

Hank seems kind of slow in the mental department, but that is ok since he makes up for it by being cute. He likes to lean on you if you pet him. It looked like he was really hot and thirsty, so I walked him through this park that has a drinking fountain. Most dogs his size knows to stand up and drink when you turn the water on for them. But Hank just stay planted to the ground and licked the water that spilled on to the ground. Luckily for him, I had an empty plastic food container with me that I filled up with water for him. He kept walking into things as well. Hank managed to brush up against this scooter and set the alarm off. Most dogs would have freaked, but Hank was like cool as a cucumber and wanted to check out him new toy even more.

[Scuba]

That was a picture of Rocky, the next one is Hank.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Bully Buddies will be great in finding the best home for Marcus

YAY for Jack I'm not surprised that boy sounded like an all round great dog

Rocky & Hank are a handsome pair

poor boys probably didn't have enough positive interaction w/their humans so never learned their names :sad: for them finding a wonderful home together

[Scuba]

I also walked Muffin again tonight as my second dog. She is still really hyper and mouthy as well. Don't really know how to stop her being so mouthy with everything. She almost chewed/bit through the thick nylon leash that I was walking her with tonight. I threw it out since I didn't want anyone to use it next time and have it snap on them if they have a dog suddenly bolt on them.

Can anyone here recommend a good leash that I can replace for the SPCA. I would prefer nylon as they can be easily scrubbed and cleaned. Stainless metal parts would also be nice but not a must.

Muffin was so easily distracted tonight by anything and everything (except for cats), next time I will try to bring a toy for her like I did for Jack last time. She didn't find a big stick to bash me with like last week but she did leave some bruises on my right arm where she played bit me. She doesn't realise how strong she is getting or how sharp her teeth are. But I forgive her and I still love her.

I did notice that she had some skin condition thing going on. There are bald patches of skin all over her body tonight. Don't know what it is, just hope that the staff and vet can take care of it.

[Scuba]

Kisses was pretty funny tonight as well, I guess she remembers me, because I was in Rocky and Hank's kennel tonight (which had Marcus and Jack before) and Kisses is right next door. She kept jumping up, clearing the cinder block wall so that you could basically see all of her through the plexiglass. I did go next door to say hi to her and her tail was going about 100 miles an hour.

[Scuba]

Monday 1st September 2008 was a holiday so there was only morning walk session.

There were a lot of volunteers that day and I only took one dog for a walk. It was a pretty long walk though.

Her name is Bailey, she is five years old. I don't know her history or why she is at the SPCA shelter. She is really sweet and easy going. Pretty much everyone wants to say hi to her on our walk. She has good leash manners and know some basic obedience commands.

Nothing funny or out of the ordinary happened on our morning walk together.

[chico2]

Scuba,thank's for what you are doing
Who would not love that girls facethose trusting beautiful eyes,hope she gets a home soon
The 2 Rotties are beautiful

[growler~GateKeeper]

Aww Bailey is adorable for a quick adoption for her

[Rottielover]

oh..oh...It never ceases to amaze me, when I was originally looking for a rott, there were none, now so many within my reach, and I am full.
Good luck finding them good homes, they are adorable

[Scuba]

Kisses got adopted
Night got adopted
Rocky got adopted

Bailey is adoption pending at the moment! She is so friendly and cute.

Only sad news was that Hank had been given the long sleep that he is never going to wake up from. He had some hip trouble and the shelter vet and staff made a decision. I only found out tonight, if I had known in advance I would have loved to take the guy out for his last walk. But it wasn't to be.

[Scuba]

There weren't that many dogs tonight which is a totally good thing.

The first guy that I walked is call Meeko, he is a pug. I haven't walked little guys and girls in a long time. It was actually a little weird. He might be small but he has got the soul of a big guy. Didn't want to do sits and wasn't interested in treats (it was stuff that I bought at True Carnivores, the good stuff and not milkbones ). He was pretty good at stopping and waiting at the intersections though. Wanted to chase bicycles and stuff. He is only little and can't reach the drinking fountain but luckily there was a plastic container handy.

Poor fellow has really bad diarrhea. Probably a good thing that he wasn't interested in the treats since I wouldn't have given him any if I had known about his gastrointestinal problems. Not only did he have to suffer from loose stool he had to suffer the indignation of having me wipe his bum with damp paper towels when we got back to the shelter. He didn't want any of that, but luckily for me two other volunteers helped hold and distract him whilst I did the clean up.

[Scuba]

Since there weren't many dogs that needed walking and there were quite a few volunteers tonight. I hung out for a bit at the shelter and played with Bailey for a bit. I am going to miss her. She like the treats that Meeko was ignoring. It was lambs liver with brown rice. She kept going back and forth between the coordinator tonight and three volunteers (myself included) for pats and cuddles.

[Scuba]

Then Brewster came back from his walk, I got to take him out again since it looked like he still had a lot of energy to burn. It was probably the shortest walk for me, ever at the SPCA so far to date. We got out the gate, he turned around and went back, sat down and wagged his tail.

Then once he was back in his kennel, he was bouncing off the walls again. Crazy guy doesn't know what he wants. The volunteer who took him out tonight had him on a leash that I made (prototype number two). Brewster apparently was a little mouthy and gnawed on it but other than dog slobber it was fine.

NB. Totally nothing to do with the dogs at the shelter but lately a lot of the long one inch wide leashes have gone missing. I know I threw one out because Muffin basically killed that one. But none of the other volunteers or coordinators that I have talked to know where they have all gone. So, I just decided to try my hands at making my own. I walked Meeko with prototype number three.