Cyrene Update

I got an update on Cyrene from her forever family - woohoo!  Her new name is Saphire and this is what they had to say:

Just wanted to send you a quick note on Saphire.... She is an awesome dog that has fit in well with our family, she is very well behaved in all situations and has developed excellent leash manners - she has made friends with my running group and she loves tagging along in the morning for the kids' school drop off... Saphire is very good with the kids and very caring and watchful of the baby. 

She is just a great dog and we are happy to have her... thank you.

 Saphire's family sent along a few new pictures, too!

I'm so happy for Saphire and her family; they're just perfect for each other.  We wish them all the best!

Cyrene Didn't Go Far

Her new family lives just 10 short minutes away from us - our closest adoption to date!  Cyrene's adoption happened in kind of a round about way.

Two weeks ago the hubs and I did a home check for the rescue Cyrene is with.  This rescue has potential adopters fill out an application and have a home check that must be cleared before they are able to meet any of the dogs up for adoption.

We took Cyrene along with us because we like to see how the people interact with a dog, particularly if there are kids, of which this family has three.

The home check went fine.  The family was really nice and the kids were excited about getting a dog but were very well behaved around Cyrene (impressive for kids under 7!).  The family was approved for adoption.

A few days later I got an email from a different approved adopter interested in meeting Cyrene.  The application said that they were runners, which I thought would be a good match for Cyrene, so we made arrangements for them to come over and meet her.  But when I spoke to them on the phone I had a funny feeling like this wasn't the right fit.  Nothing I could pinpoint - just a gut reaction.  But I decided to reserve judgement until meeting them, hoping they would woo me in person.

Meanwhile, I had begun thinking that the family we had done the home visit for might be a good fit with Cyrene and planned on trying to match them up if the other adopter didn't work out.

Last Sunday the people interested in Cyrene came over to our house.  They liked her, but you could tell there wasn't a connection.  The husband seemed to like Cyrene well enough but was leaving the final decision to his wife.  Basically, she wanted a dog like Cyrene in every way except for with a fluffier, fuller coat.

Which quite frankly I was happy to hear, because shortly before they arrived at our home I got a message from the other family saying they had really liked Cyrene and that they were wondering if she was available for adoption!  As soon as the other couple confirmed that they would not be adopting Cyrene I called to give them the good news.  They came over on Tuesday so we could tell them more about her and so they could see Cyrene in her home environment.  They loved her and but asked if they could wait until Friday to bring her home so they could have the weekend all together (which we didn't mind at all because it meant we could have a few more days with Cyrene).

So on Friday they came over and did the necessary paperwork and Cyrene went home with her new family.  We're hoping since they live so close by we'll run into them from time to time!

Enjoy your new family, Cyrene!  We know they're going to love you to pieces!

Overnight Overlap

This evening I picked up our next foster, Talia.  We think she might be a Duck Tolling Retriever mix, but it's hard to say for sure.  Whatever she is, she's super fluffy and soft.

All tuckered out after a big day

And tomorrow Cyrene is getting adopted!  Since her new family already met her they'll just be filling out the paperwork and then off they'll go.

So for tonight and most of tomorrow we've got three dogs, which means the house is full because we only have 2 crates (Dash has graduated from his crate to being closed in the kitchen).  All of the animals are getting along really well, which is a huge relief.  Even when you've been told your new foster is good with other animals it can still be a gamble and you never really know until you get them home.

 Contrary to the pictures, Talia actually does do more than just lay around

More on Talia's arrival and Cyrene's adoption coming soon!

Meet Cyrene!

On Saturday this sweet little girl made her way from Central Illinois up to us on a transport.

For the uninitiated, a transport consists of people driving short legs of a longer journey with dogs that are being rescued.  Occasionally a large (huge, really) van will be used to move around 30 dogs all at once, in which case that vehicle usually does most of the journey on its own.  Transports routinely cover 300+ miles.  These dogs would be put to sleep if it were not for the generosity of these folks, and of course the fosters and rescues that take them in once they reach their destination.  Truly a group effort.

Cyrene was an owner surrender.  The state was requiring her owner to have her spayed and microchipped.  He didn't like the idea of that so she was abandoned at a vet's office and that was the end of that.  Luckily for Cyrene, she was saved by a rescue and of course one of the first things we did was have her spayed and microchipped!

Cyrene is an absolute sweetheart and Thomas and I have a hard time wrapping our heads around how someone could get rid of this little girl.  Her little nub of a tail wags faster than any dog I've seen.  She is so well behaved and the very definition of a velcro Aussie.  Cyrene knows her basic commands and aspires to be a lap dog.  But when she's not trying to get you to pet her, she wants to run around and play.

She pals around with Dash and is fine with the cats (phew!).  She's 4 years old and a petite girl at 35 pounds with a whole lot of love to give and life to live!  We're sure Cyrene will score a forever home in no time at all as soon as she's done healing from her spay.