The Opportunity to Meet Me!
On a regular basis the rescue organization shows off the foster dogs at various locations around the south bay area. Here is the
schedule. I am at nearly every showcase day because Mom takes me. She's eager for me to find my forever home. The locations are typically Petco in Sunnyvale and Pet Food Express in Redwood City, but other locations pop up too (I was at Barnes and Noble in San Jose near Santa Teresa last week).
This Saturday I will be at Petco in Sunnyvale.
SF Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue Showcase Day
Sat. December 4, 2004 from 11 AM to 2 PM Petco - Sunnyvale
160 East El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
408-774-0171
The Cool and Calm Dog
Today was my second day showing off at Barnes and Noble. I felt totally different today...very relaxed. Yesterday I couldn't sit down much less lie down. I just had to be up and active every moment because being inside a book store was a new experience for me. But today I was very cool and calm. I sat still much of the time and even lay down and fell asleep! I got awfully tired because hordes of adoring fans came up to pet me and talk about how gorgeous I am. To be honest, a few times I gave out a big yawn. After awhile I'd heard it all. The most common comments and questions were:
- What a big dog! (This comment was common even when I was lying down)
- Can I (we, the kids) pet him?
- What kind of dog is he?
- I didn't know German Shepherds could be all black!
- He's trying to drink my latte!!! (Actually, I liked the people who were carrying coffee drinks the best. One woman even let me lick the lid of her drink. Well, "let" isn't exactly the right word. She was gracious about it though.)
- Is he a guide dog?
- How old is he?
- Does he bite? (Mom thought this question was pretty funny...would it make any sense to bring a big GSD to a place with kids if he had a tendency to bite?)
- Why did he end up at the shelter?
- I hope he finds a good home.
- I love him but my (mother, father, husband, wife, etc.) would kill me if I got another dog.
- I already have two dogs.
- I had a German Shepherd and I loved him very much.
- I have a German Shepherd (or mix) now and he/she is the best dog in the world.
- I have a cat (or two or three or four).
- I have a pug, Boston terrier, mutt, rottweiler-mix, two dachsunds, two beagles, several adopted dogs from the shelter, etc. etc. etc.
- My sister (brother, daughter, son) would love him but...
It was a lot of fun listening to everyone's comments!
However the highlight of my day is when I got my big nose into the box with chocolate kisses in it. I had one tight between my teeth and was about to eat it, foil and all, but Mom managed to pry open my mouth and take it out. Sometimes Mom is kind of mean to me.
Even if my perfect family didn't come by today, this was a great experience for me to have so many strangers touch me and fawn all over me. Plus being inside the store was new too. Mom says it was good for my overall socialization skills.
The Literary Dog
Had a great afternoon at Barnes and Noble today. We were inside the store, right by one of the entrances. The Rescue Team wrapped packages for customers and the doggies just lounged around attracting hordes of worshipers. Tara and Chandler and I were the only doggies there...for some reason Barnes and Noble didn't want all 15 of our foster dogs in the store at one time. Tara and I are up for adoption, Chandler is Keith's adopted dog. Chandler is even bigger than me...he weighs 110 lbs. I only weigh 95 lbs.
Lots of people stopped by to pet us and kiss us and stroke us. Lots of kids, even little tiny kids. I like kids! The Barnes and Noble staff came by too and they were wonderful to us doggies. They said we can roam the store with our person which we didn't realize. I'll be back at the store tomorrow (Sunday) from 1:30pm-6pm and Mom says she is going to take me everywhere in the store so that I get maximum exposure. The place I really want to go is the cafe -- lots of the customers were carrying coffee drinks and there is nothing that I like better than to knock over a coffee drink and lick up the mess.
Hope to meet you tomorrow! Address of Barnes and Noble is in yesterday's post.
The 3 Month Anniversary
Hard to believe but it is exactly 3 months since SF Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue pulled me from the shelter (Silicon Valley Humane Society) and I came to live with my foster family. August 26, 2004 was the big day -- a very big day for me to be sure since my future at that time was extremely bleak.
But here I am now, happy, healthy, loving, drop-dead handsome, pretty-well-trained, the-best-dog-in-the-whole-wide-world, having a great life! All that is missing is my forever family and my forever home.
Tomorrow I will be featured at Barnes and Noble and Noble, San Jose Almaden Fashion Plaza, take hiway 85 and the Alameda exit in San Jose (California). I'll be there from 1:30pm-6pm Saturday and Sunday.
The Ice Cube Maker
I love ice cubes! I wait patiently (OK, impatiently) in front of the refrigerator, with my big nose positioned right under the spout of the ice cube maker. And I hope Mom will push the lever and and ice cube will pop out right into my mouth. Mom likes iced drinks so she uses the ice cube maker a lot. Which is good news for me. I usually catch one of the cubes when it comes out but I can't catch them all. Then I scramble around looking for them on the floor. They are tough to find since they don't have an odor. But mmmmmm are they good. Cold and crunchy.
I thought I was the only doggy in the world that ate ice cubes but Mom found this picture of some puppies (labs?) who are obviously ice cube lovers too!
And here's a
BEAR eating ice cubes right out of the ice dispenser!
The Training Lessons Continue...
Not much new today. Had my training walk this morning, and of course, I did well. I'm getting the idea of what it takes to have yummy carrots fed to me. If I hang close to Mom and don't wander, she makes little cooing sounds and soon she hands me a baby carrot. Of course, Mom doesn't exactly hand it to me because I still have a tendency to take the fingers with the treat. Mom makes a fist and holds the carrot between her thumb and first finger. Then I delicately take it from her without chewing on a digit. Jeff drove by as we were walking and he was very pleased to see me in training. Jeff thinks I need more doggy manners and I can't argue with that!
This weekend on Saturday and Sunday 11/27 and 11/28 I will be at Barnes and Noble doing my holiday shopping and browsing the cookbooks. Well, not really. I will be at Barnes and Noble showing off while Mom helps the SF Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue group sell GSD stuff. You can visit me from the hours of 1:30pm-6pm, Barnes and Noble, San Jose Almaden Fashion Plaza, take hiway 85 and the Alameda exit. Please stop by and I will give you a kiss on the cheek with my big nose (I'm not much of a licker). Oh, say hello to Mom too. She will be wrapping packages.
The Training Lessons
Mom's back from Argentina.
She has decided that I need some training. So early in the morning we go for a training walk. I am just learning the basics now -- heeling and sitting -- but I'm doing great! I already had terrific manners when it comes to meeting strange doggies and people...I don't bark, pull at the leash, or anything bad. In fact, all I do is prick up my ears! But I tend to wander all over the place on the leash -- in front, in back to the side, etc. I'm learning to stay glued to Mom's left side and to sit down when she stops. I've only had two lessons but Mom is already very pleased. She says I'm the smartest and best dog in the whole wide world! It helps that she gives me treats -- raw baby carrots -- constantly thru the training session.
Mom feels guilty just training me when the other dogs also need a refresher course so she is taking each of them out alone too. She says Buffy is the worst, Pumpkin is the best, I'm in the middle. And Elsa? Elsa is so old and gets so much joy out of sniffing that Mom lets her do whatever she wants on her training walk. Not that I mind; I like to be obedient and make Mom happy!
The Trip to Argentina
Mom's going to Argentina to visit her friend Laura who is very ill. Laura has brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme) so Mom is very sad.
When Mom is gone it's difficult for me to blog, if you know what I mean. Of course, Jeff will be here, but frankly I'm not sure Jeff would be able to express my innermost thoughts. Or be willing to!
Buy don't worry, I'll be back blogging soon. Since a doggy's life doesn't change much day to day, you won't miss anything!
I'm still waiting for the perfect home. Dear reader, is it you? If you are interested in finding out more about me, please contact the rescue organization...the link is in the right-hand column.
The Omnivore
I will eat anything. Well, not peppercorns. So far that is the only so-called edible food that I won't eat. I eat inedible stuff too like paper bags, plastic, cup shards -- if they smell like food! I'm not particular. I like pears, carrots, bananas (including the peel), grapes (bad for a doggy but I stole them from the birds), ice cubes and so on. And of course I love all of the obvious doggy food stuffs.
The Rejection
Oh boo hoo, whine, cry, little sob, big teardrops. The PA (Potential Adopter) with the chickens has rejected me without even meeting me! Her reason? I don't get along with small parrots. Yeah, yeah, its true, those cockatiels and that ring-necked parakeet in Mom's aviary would certainly agree. But I think I should have been given a chance to chase those chickens around...and maybe even catch one. Heck, if I was going to be rejected anyway it might as well have been for something worthwhile!
Tomorrow I will be at the Petco in Sunnyvale with the other foster doggies. The Rescue group is allowed to have us all outside the store in the hopes that our perfect new family will stop by and say hello.
The Adoption Inquiry
Don't panic, but there has been an inquiry about me. Me, me, ME! Someone is interested in ME! Lick, kiss, little bark of joy. But, as Mom always says, nothing is done till it's done. So if you are interested in adopting me, NOW is the time to make your own desperate inquiry. Just follow the link on the right to the SF Bay Area German Shepherd Rescue website.
While I must be discreet about the inquiry, for after all, it is only an inquiry, nothing more. They haven't even met me yet. But, I will say that it sounds good. They want to know if I get along with cats, parrots, horses, and chickens. Does that sound like the good life or what! My only question is...what does it mean to "get along" with chickens? Mom mulled over that one very deeply. She suspects that I would like chickens very much, I might even LOVE chickens. But does getting along include chasing and eating? Or does it mean herding and co-existing? And what exactly would I do if confronted by a chicken? I don't know the answer to this myself.
