The state of the Georgia is strong.

Her reproductive capabilities have come to a standstill, but from this standstill will come the peace of knowing that no more accidental babies will be brought into this world by Georgia, and this sweet girl will never have to suffer the stress of motherhood again. Together with her future forever-family, she will form a bond based on mutual affection, trust, and companionship, and never again have to be the source of this bond for puppies. In her future life, she will be able to form — in the words of our forefathers — a more perfect union.

Georgia lives in an age of possibility. Three weeks ago, she was a skinny, frightened, gray-muzzled dog in a shelter with an uncertain today and an uncertain tomorrow. Two weeks ago, she had ear and lung infections so bad that her white blood cell levels were too irregular for safe anesthesia. She would not eat — not even the finest of canned foods rolled into gourmet meatballs hand fed by her foster mama. Georgia was rightly concerned for her stability, her safety, and her future.

But the era of concern is over for Georgia. Her finest advisors conducted a thorough audit, and determined that her governance and framework are sound. Her blood — once fighting severe infections — now flows healthy, vibrant and clean like a mighty river. Her skin — once plagued by dryness and flakes — is now on the mend. Her rough, calloused elbows — once deteriorating from a life spent sleeping on concrete — are now cushioned by soft pillows, dog beds, and grass wherever she lays down for a rest.

Still, Georgia cannot let her guard down. Georgia faces the challenge of aggression by rogue allergies. These allergies are nameless and faceless and hover in the shadows of Georgia’s society, too cowardly to show themselves in the light. Georgia looks to us and trusts us to help her seek the peace and freedom from these allergies, and we shall not retreat without striking them down. We are yet unsure of the borders of the war we face, but we have taken on wheat, grain, and poultry with isolationism, and a military of antihistamines that leaves Georgia stronger than ever before. If we address these threats today, Georgia will never have to suffer the consequences in all her tomorrows.

Last week we made a landmark decision about Georgia’s dental health. A tooth with a root exposed is no benefit to Georgia or to society. So just as we always seek to extract greed, violence, and hatred from our great nation, we extracted a tooth from Georgia’s mouth. We’ve created a mouth that makes it easier to eat, play, and chew with satisfaction. That’s something we should all be proud of, because just days ago, Georgia’s dental state was uncertain.

My fellow dog lovers, with our great society behind her, Georgia will rise to every occasion and meet every challenge. This age of possibility is not just for Georgia, but for all homeless dogs.

Our Georgia is and always has been a good dog. But the best is yet to come, if we all do our part.

Thank you, and God bless dog.

Curious Georgia is not called “curious” for nothing. She is a very active sniffer, liking to get her nose right up close to anything and everything — to better understand the world. She doesn’t cause any trouble whatsoever, but she sure does like to sniff.

Sir Chick, our own wonderdog, is a bit of a grump with new dogs, so we can’t have Curious Georgia giving him a thorough sniffing anytime she pleases, or he may get fussy — which would most certainly frighten our delicate little flower. So what do we use? A tiedown.

It sure is lonely here on tiedown all by myself . . .

We have written about the glory of the tiedown before. We use it as a critical stage in integrating a new foster into our household. For us, a tiedown comes after baby gate socialization and before total free-range time. It helps dogs learn how to settle down and be still, keeps them out of trouble while allowing them to observe and be part of daily life, and allows resident animals to maintain their freedom without being bounced on or pounced on by new, rambunctious fosters dogs. Georgia is not a pouncer or a bouncer, but she is a sniffer.

Luckily Curious G took to the tiedown like a champ. She gets a little whimpery and barky when we leave the room and she is tied down, but after just a few days this behavior is beginning to extinguish and she is learning how to be cool even when we are gone. And Chick sure appreciates his independence, too.

I see that beautiful Chick but I cannot sniff him from here!

Maybe if I put on my saddest face, they'll let me resume my sniffing habit.

For more info on adopting Curious Georgia, click here or contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com.

On one of her very first nights in her new environment, foster mom and dad had a party for Curious Georgia.

Ok, the party wasn’t for her, exactly, but luckily, Georgia will never know. As far as she’s concerned, she got to meet a bunch of new people and watch them swoon over her honey eyes and her perfect manners. “I can’t believe she’s only been here two days,” they said. “Yep, isn’t she something special?” we posed.

Everybody cooed over her mild manners, her quiet energy, and the fact that she would never dream on jumping up on a stranger in greeting. Instead, she prefers to gently rest her face against their leg, as if to say “Hi, I’m Georgia. I would like a hug, please.”

Her favorite guests, naturally, were our good friends Dexter and Caden, who live in the neighborhood and have made friends with our own Chick and several of our fosters. They were pleased with her huggability, and she was pleased with theirs.

I guess you could say she’s kid-friendly!

For more info on adopting Curious Georgia, click here or contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com.

Is Georgia your average Heinz 57 mixed-breed shelter dog, or is she a pit bull, or is she both? Or does it matter? Regardless of her true genetic makeup, her size, short fur, wrinkled forehead, and silly ears had her labeled a pit bull — a black one — and all but sealed her fate at the county shelter.

Five or six year old Georgia came in as a stray, severely underweight, with bad ear infections, terribly rough skin, and swollen, puffy paws from allergies or who knows what. As with many shelter dogs, nothing is known about her past. The big, prominent callouses on her elbows suggest a lot of time spent laying on concrete or another rough surface; her fear of doorways, stairs, and the sound of kitchen appliances suggest a non-domestic life prior; but her honey eyes and love of hugging suggest a heart of molten gold.

Like many black pit bulls do, Georgia sat at the shelter waiting for her perfect family to come along — for two and a half months. Much like Little Zee, Georgia was shy at the shelter, tending to linger in the back of her pen rather than bouncing and wiggling at the front soliciting attention. Lucky for her she caught the attention of a few shelter staff, and became a quick favorite — a status that eventually led her into our home and into our hearts.

Much of Curious Georgia’s personality is still a mystery, since she has only been with us a few short days. But certain things are starting to emerge. She is housebroken. Very mild. A little timid. Chases balls and bats them around, but won’t put them in her mouth. Gets to know people by sniffing every inch of their face with a wistful look in her eyes. Loves to hug. Desparately seeks love. Great with kids. Loves to lay down and roll around in sunny, grassy spots. Sleeps curled up into a little lima bean shape at night, with her nose tucked under her back leg. Dreams of a loving family of her very own.

Sound like your dream dog?

So we knew it wouldn’t be long, but we were thinking it would be maybe two or three months — enough time to pack, move, and settle in to our new life — before our next foster. So how did it turn into two days?

Meet Georgia.

It’s been a tough couple of months at our county shelter. Everybody is working hard to push dogs out to rescue and foster, boost adoptions, and bring in donations to sustain the precious, fragile lives the county is responsible for. But it’s been the kind of spell that gives shelter workers nightmares. Adoptions are down because of the great adoption specials that neighboring jurisdictions are offering, and the dogs keep coming in. Two and three and four at a time. Kennel space is rare, and sometimes nonexistent. From time to time, heartbreaking decisions have to be made.

Curious Georgia was about to be on the receiving end of one of those heartbreaking decisions — a last call — when her personal angel showed up. A woman who works at the shelter and can’t have a dog but pulled her anyway because she just couldn’t bear to lose this girl’s honey eyes and disposition to match. She thought maybe if she could just hold on to sweet Georgia for just a few days, the stars would align and this tender little life would be saved.

So we stepped up. Two minutes after I met Georgia, she was wistfully sniffing every inch of my face. Ten minutes after I met her, she was curled up in a tight ball in my lap, and my heart was already making room.  Two days later, she was snoozing peacefully under our dining room table. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m sure glad it did. Come along for the ride– you’ll be glad you did, too.