Introducing Jinny, the Fairest Lass in all the Land

Jinny's intake photo at animal control

Another photo from AC

Meet sassy Miss Jinny, our newest foster gal! Jinny is a 5 (ish) year old rough coated Collie / Sheltie mix who weighs about 40 pounds. She's super sweet, very quiet, ever so polite, and just a really good girl. A DeKalb County animal control officer picked Jinny up as a stray in Doraville on June 9th. The shelter has been at max capacity recently and poor Jinny never made it into the relative safety of the adoptions ward. We pulled her from the main ward for Perfect Pets Rescue yesterday.

Drew grooming Jinny on Day 1

Jinny's poor dewclaws post trimming

Drew picked her name and prefers it spelled with a "J" instead of the conventional "G". I don't think it's ever taken us quite this long to name a dog before, but we wanted to take our time picking something feminine that suited her personality well. Jinny is short for Virginia, which means fair maiden. This seems to fit her nicely. 

What a lovely lady!

Jinny resting on Day 1

Jinny tested positive for heartworms, which means we'll have her for 3-4 months while she undergoes treatment. After that, she'll board the FODA transport bus and head up to PPR in Poughkeepsie, New York to await her forever home. She also had badly ingrown dewclaws; the claws grew so long that they wrapped around and pierced her toe pads. The shelter vet clipped them to an appropriate length while Jinny wasunder anesthesia for her spay procedure. They'll be swollen and sore for a while, but will heal with time and a little antibiotic assistance. Drew spent a good bit of time gently cutting mats out of her coat and washing away the dirt with a damp cloth, as she can't have a full bath until her spay incision fully heals. After that, she got a good thorough brushing. Her coat looks worlds better now and she's feeling much more comfortable without all those awful mats pulling her skin.

Bunkies & Jinny

Jinny appears to be completely housebroken. She also sleeps quietly in her crate at night and will retreat to it for afternoon naps when she needs a moment to herself. She doesn't mind the other dogs at all. Bunkin seems to think we brought Jinny home just for him. They are in collie mix heaven together (see photos). We are so happy to have Jinny in our home. It is an honor to help her on her journey toward forever.

Perfect Pets Rescue (PPR) is a wonderful group that pulls countless dogs from DeKalb County Animal Services and other area shelters. They make sure their foster dogs have everything they need. PPR really rocked the house this weekend when they pulled a small breed dog with NINE puppies, a staff & fan favorite Australian Kelpie named Sushi, and getting the ball rolling on an adorable young pup ALL in addition to placing Jinny with us. Paws big time UP for PPR! If you'd like to donate to PPR so they can continue their awesome work, please visit this page: http://www.perfectpetsrescue.org/donations-and-how-you-can-help.html

Pups on the Go

A couple of other DeKalb County AC volunteers and I took a few adoptable dogs to Hodgepodge Coffee House for a mini adoption event today. Hodgepodge is a super cool local coffee/pastry/art shop run by some wonderful people who are passionate about pets. If you're local, be sure to stop by and grab some serious coffee, delicious scones, and Jamaican empanadas. Check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/hodgepodgecoffee?fref=ts 

Although nobody got adopted today, we had a GREAT time crashing their parking lot and hanging out with some awesome DeKalb pups. There was a steady flow of Hodgepodge customers oohing and aahing over the pups. The dogs are always mega glad to get as much fresh air and socialization as possible, so it was a day well spent. Check out the picture collages from today to see just how much fun Kimchi, George, and Emily had hanging out together. If you'd like to fill out an adoption application for any of them, please email jsmartinez@dekalbcountyga.gov or stop by the shelter at 845 Camp Road, Decatur, GA 30032. You can also check out their Petfinder pages below. We hope to do another adoption day at Hodgepodge again sometime soon, so help us spread the word by telling your friends! We owe a HUGE thanks to the folks at Hodgepodge for being such gracious hosts. You guys ROCK! 


Kimchi's Petfinder page: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/26037542 
George's Petfinder page: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/26371953
Emily's Petfinder page: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/26366182

Happy Tail: Brewster!

Brewster, now named Wilbur, found his forever home yesterday! Hurray! Thanks SO much to FODA and Delaware County SPCA in Pennsylvania for helping this big ole mushmallow get adopted. Paws up!

Pickles: More Sweet than Sour!

After almost three months of socialization, little Mr. Pickles is ready for his furever home. He still needs continued training and someone who is experienced with Chihuahuas, but he has come leaps and bounds since we brought him home from the shelter.

Pickles does really well when we have friends over. He may still be a little barky at first, but he relaxes after the first 15 minutes or so once he realizes the visitors mean him no harm. Ignoring him completely during this short time helps a lot, as does tossing treats on the floor in his general direction. He was very well behaved for two different house sitters (one male, one female) while we were out of town. CHARM School is helping him a ton: he's learning to be around other people and dogs in a foreign environment without stressing. He even let Anna, our CHARM School trainer, hang onto him for a few minutes while I went inside to get water this morning! Last week, Pickles joined me and some rescue friends for brews on the deck at a local watering hole. He hung out with us for two whole hours! There were other people, children, and dogs at tables next to us; after the first few minutes, he didn't mind much at all. These little social milestones are all SO encouraging! I'm super proud of Pickles and the progress he's made. He's not perfect and still requires patience, but I really think he's ready to move forward.

For a refresher on Pickles's background story, check out my initial blog post about him: http://ohfortheloveofdogs.blogspot.com/2013/03/meet-pickles.html

I know Pickles's perfect match is out there somewhere. If you or someone you know would like a loyal, affectionate, playful little Chihuahua who will make you smile on a daily basis, please email jsmartinez@dekalbcountyga.gov to fill out an adoption application for Pickles. Feel free to find me on Facebook (Aubrey Bowen) or leave any questions in the comment section below this post, too. This little guy is just too much fun! Check out the videos below to see how much he loves playing with his rope and also his adorable little happy Chi dance. Please share far and wide so we can help Pickles find the forever home he deserves!