Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Our Ally Returns to Us
Our poor Ally was returned by her adoptive family. They had two very active and loud boys and felt that Ally was just too overwhelmed with that much activity. So... Ally is looking for a new home...and this time she'd like it to be for keeps!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Ally Update
A lot has happened behind the scenes and we have not done a good job of keeping this blog up to date but we have some wonderful news to share - our Ally was adopted last week! She is in a home with children and has another doggie to play with. It's all we could have hoped for and it's such a wonderful ending for this special little girl!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Week 3 in Foster Care
Ally McBeagle is making very good progress. It took her two baths just to get the "outside life" off of her. Her foster mom is still working with her on potty training. Now that she lives with her foster sisters, Ally no longer pees like a boy but like a lady! She is still having accidents but she is making progress since her foster mom is trying to break her of a 3-5 yr habit of going potty whenever she likes. But Ally can now make it through the night if you place her in her kennel or if she sleeps in a human bed.
After her first week, Ally had a set back. She seemed depressed and in pain. Ally began too whimper for no reason. This broke Brooke's heart (foster mom). She couldn't figure it out but when she went to pet Ally's ears to cheer her up, Ally yelped! Turns out, Ally's first run with antibiotics didn't work. She had a horrible bacterial ear infection in both ears. Ally immediately went to the Vet that evening and was given a Rx for ear drops with steroids. After a few days, Ally showed a side of her no one had ever seen, her puppy side! She began to bounce around the house, running up and down the stairs, hiding things from her foster mom's, and pouncing on her foster sisters! Someone is feeling MUCH better.
Ally has gained 3 lbs and loves to eat! She will take anything out of your hand but won't always eat it. She still isn't sure of "people food". But she LOVES cheese, sandwich meat, and cereal! She is now sleeping through the night. Ally would be a great addition to a family that already has dogs. Ally is connected at the hip with her foster sister Maybel (beagle). She will not eat or sleep without Maybel right next to her. She will actually cry when she can't find Maybel. She does well by herself for an hour or so but after wards always looks for her best friend. Ally doesn't show any separation anxiety when her foster mom's go to work. One day Maybel went to doggie daycare and her foster moms went to work and Ally did just great! Just as long as we come back, which she now trusts that we will. All in all, Ally is doing great and she will make a wonderful pet to any loving family!
After her first week, Ally had a set back. She seemed depressed and in pain. Ally began too whimper for no reason. This broke Brooke's heart (foster mom). She couldn't figure it out but when she went to pet Ally's ears to cheer her up, Ally yelped! Turns out, Ally's first run with antibiotics didn't work. She had a horrible bacterial ear infection in both ears. Ally immediately went to the Vet that evening and was given a Rx for ear drops with steroids. After a few days, Ally showed a side of her no one had ever seen, her puppy side! She began to bounce around the house, running up and down the stairs, hiding things from her foster mom's, and pouncing on her foster sisters! Someone is feeling MUCH better.
Ally has gained 3 lbs and loves to eat! She will take anything out of your hand but won't always eat it. She still isn't sure of "people food". But she LOVES cheese, sandwich meat, and cereal! She is now sleeping through the night. Ally would be a great addition to a family that already has dogs. Ally is connected at the hip with her foster sister Maybel (beagle). She will not eat or sleep without Maybel right next to her. She will actually cry when she can't find Maybel. She does well by herself for an hour or so but after wards always looks for her best friend. Ally doesn't show any separation anxiety when her foster mom's go to work. One day Maybel went to doggie daycare and her foster moms went to work and Ally did just great! Just as long as we come back, which she now trusts that we will. All in all, Ally is doing great and she will make a wonderful pet to any loving family!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Ally's First 24 Hours in Her New Life!
Ally showed up at her foster townhouse completely out of her element. Brooke, her foster mother, let her sniff the whole front yard and she didn't miss an inch. Ally has never been on a leash before so she didn't understand why she would get stuck if she went around trees or polls. Luckily she is getting more comfortable every walk she gets. Ally cautiously went inside wide-eyed but her tail wagging. Brooke introduced her to her foster sisters Maybel (beagle) and Josie (pug). The meeting went really well. They touched nose to nose, sniffed each other all over and then Ally continued to explore her new home.
Because Ally has never been inside before, stairs seemed to be a little bit of a challenge. She was confident going up the stairs, but going down stairs was a little bit harder. Ally slowly taught herself where to place her feet and with some practice she has mastered the stairs!
Welcoming Ally into their home, Brooke tried to give Ally some chewy treats and a bone. Ally sniffed them but walked away. It was probably the first dog bone Ally has ever seen. Brooke also tried a chip and a little bit of peanut butter, but she wouldn't take those either. She still hasn't picked up any chewy treats yet, but she has grown fond of soft treats like chicken and beef dog jerky, yum! And she even got a Chick-fil-a chicken nugget, lucky dog! Ally is so skinny you can see her ribs, but not for long! Brooke gave her a whole can of wet dog food as a welcoming meal and Ally licked every last bit!
Ally soon began following Brooke everywhere she went. Beth, Brooke's mom and Ally's other foster mom soon came home and Ally came right up to her in pure excitement. Beth showered her with kisses and belly rubs and that was all Ally needed to be at Beth's side for the rest of the night. About an hour after Beth got home she had to get some groceries from the car. Beth placed Ally in the family room and placed a baby gate up so Ally wouldn't run out of the open door. When Beth returned with the groceries, Ally was on the other side of the baby gate! Ally must have really wanted to be with her foster mother because she climbed right over the 3 ft baby gate! Quite the little climber-
From the time Ally arrived in her new foster home at 3pm until 9pm at night, Ally never laid down or even sat down. You could tell she was still not sure of her new surroundings and may have been nervous. She has not jumped on any furniture and still has not let out her first bark. She is very quiet. Her favorite thing to do is to look out the window and lay in the sun. She loves watching the birds and squirrels and would look out of the window all day if you let her. She also really enjoys her foster home's back deck. Since she is a former outside dog, the heat doesn't seem to bother her and she gets a better views of all the animals outside.
Since Ally is a former outside dog, she is definitely not house trained. Actually, she piddles like a boy dog! That's right, leg up and all! She tends to "mark" her scent like boy dogs do. Ally seems to still have some bleeding from her spay surgery the day before so her foster mom's thought it would be best to put her in doggie diapers for the day. It actually really helps with potty training because her mom's know when she is trying to pee because she lifts her leg and they yell "NO!" and she will stop. She is still pretty confused why her mom's make such a fuss about her peeing in the house, but she will learn over time.
At the end of the day, Ally got some one on one time with Brooke. Brooke picked her up and placed her in the bed. You could tell that Ally had such a big day because she was exhausted. She quickly laid down (first time all day!) next to her foster mom and gently went to sleep. She slept through the whole night and didn't have any accidents! Probably because she was too busy dreaming with excitement that she has been saved and will never have to live outside in a beagle box ever again!
Because Ally has never been inside before, stairs seemed to be a little bit of a challenge. She was confident going up the stairs, but going down stairs was a little bit harder. Ally slowly taught herself where to place her feet and with some practice she has mastered the stairs!
Welcoming Ally into their home, Brooke tried to give Ally some chewy treats and a bone. Ally sniffed them but walked away. It was probably the first dog bone Ally has ever seen. Brooke also tried a chip and a little bit of peanut butter, but she wouldn't take those either. She still hasn't picked up any chewy treats yet, but she has grown fond of soft treats like chicken and beef dog jerky, yum! And she even got a Chick-fil-a chicken nugget, lucky dog! Ally is so skinny you can see her ribs, but not for long! Brooke gave her a whole can of wet dog food as a welcoming meal and Ally licked every last bit!
Ally soon began following Brooke everywhere she went. Beth, Brooke's mom and Ally's other foster mom soon came home and Ally came right up to her in pure excitement. Beth showered her with kisses and belly rubs and that was all Ally needed to be at Beth's side for the rest of the night. About an hour after Beth got home she had to get some groceries from the car. Beth placed Ally in the family room and placed a baby gate up so Ally wouldn't run out of the open door. When Beth returned with the groceries, Ally was on the other side of the baby gate! Ally must have really wanted to be with her foster mother because she climbed right over the 3 ft baby gate! Quite the little climber-
From the time Ally arrived in her new foster home at 3pm until 9pm at night, Ally never laid down or even sat down. You could tell she was still not sure of her new surroundings and may have been nervous. She has not jumped on any furniture and still has not let out her first bark. She is very quiet. Her favorite thing to do is to look out the window and lay in the sun. She loves watching the birds and squirrels and would look out of the window all day if you let her. She also really enjoys her foster home's back deck. Since she is a former outside dog, the heat doesn't seem to bother her and she gets a better views of all the animals outside.
Since Ally is a former outside dog, she is definitely not house trained. Actually, she piddles like a boy dog! That's right, leg up and all! She tends to "mark" her scent like boy dogs do. Ally seems to still have some bleeding from her spay surgery the day before so her foster mom's thought it would be best to put her in doggie diapers for the day. It actually really helps with potty training because her mom's know when she is trying to pee because she lifts her leg and they yell "NO!" and she will stop. She is still pretty confused why her mom's make such a fuss about her peeing in the house, but she will learn over time.
At the end of the day, Ally got some one on one time with Brooke. Brooke picked her up and placed her in the bed. You could tell that Ally had such a big day because she was exhausted. She quickly laid down (first time all day!) next to her foster mom and gently went to sleep. She slept through the whole night and didn't have any accidents! Probably because she was too busy dreaming with excitement that she has been saved and will never have to live outside in a beagle box ever again!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
What's a Beagle Box?
As you can see, a beagle box is a small container with vents that is used to transport hunting dogs. This was what Ally called home for most of her life!
Miss Wiggly!
A trip to Petsmart to get an ID tag and a martingale. Couldn't even get a picture of Ally standing still - she was just too happy!
Ally at the Shelter
Ally is a 15 lb. little beagle, as sweet as can be! She wags her little tail when you talk to her!
We snapped this picture when we went to pick her up.
Ally McBeagle's Story
Our Ally did not have the best of beginnings. She was owned by a hunter who kept her in a beagle box most of the time. She wasn't even let out of the box to go to the bathroom. She had such a horrible untreated ear infection that her poor little ears were oozing with liquid. Fortunately, Ally proved to not be such a great hunter so her owner decided it was time to get rid of her. He dropped her off at a rural shelter on Maryland's Eastern Shore and told the staff to "throw her in a tank and kill her".
Thankfully, that was not an option at this wonderful little shelter. They assessed her, treated her ears, vaccinated her, and tested her for Lyme disease and heartworm. That's when we found out that Ally had one more hurdle to go - she was both Lyme and heartworm positive (a pretty expensive treatment and very difficult for the dog). So we continue to nurse her back to health and teach her what it's like to be a family companion!
Thankfully, that was not an option at this wonderful little shelter. They assessed her, treated her ears, vaccinated her, and tested her for Lyme disease and heartworm. That's when we found out that Ally had one more hurdle to go - she was both Lyme and heartworm positive (a pretty expensive treatment and very difficult for the dog). So we continue to nurse her back to health and teach her what it's like to be a family companion!
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