Those who read our other blog know that Snickerdoodle’s rescue, Love-A-Bull, has agreed to take in nine survivors of cruelty from three dog fighting operations on the east coast. And those of you who follow us on Facebook  got a little peek at an itty bitty teensy tiny pit bull type dog snuggled up in our crate over the weekend.

But most folks probably hadn’t put the two together, since we’ve been so very cryptic with our hints.

So without further delay, we are proud to introduce Pocket Petunia!

This pocket pet is so little that the beautiful Sirius Republic collar we had picked out for her — Barton Springs — couldn’t even be adjusted to fit! But at 26 pounds fully grown, Petunia does NOT let her tiny stature limit the size of her giant personality and heart full of love.

When she arrived by caravan from Dolly’s Foundation in Florida on Saturday afternoon, she was a quivery little thing. Wouldn’t walk on a leash, wouldn’t make eye contact, certainly didn’t want to play.

But a few hours later she had sniffed every square millimeter of our fenced yard and transformed into a little jumping bean. We haven’t had such a playful dog in the house since Chick was a kid!

Petunia couldn’t get enough of our flirt pole, wanting to play until she was positively pooped. Even just following us around the house and yard seemed to make her little feet dance. It’s like she knew that after a long journey, she’s finally safe.

Unfortunately, we just couldn’t provide the environment that little Petunia needs to flourish. Chick is easily annoyed by puppy-like energy and the Doodlebug is on strict rest due to his heartworm treatment. We agreed to take Petunia in for a few days because the rescue was in a pinch, but once we got her home we knew she couldn’t stay more than a couple of nights. Some dogs do well immediately with a crate-and-rotate routine, while others don’t. Petunia didn’t.

She dealt with the stress of isolation by eliminating in her crate and making a big ol’ mess every time she was left in there, and howling and growling every time our dogs passed by the room with her crate. We suspected that it wasn’t aggression she was displaying, just extreme frustration and fear of being isolated — or so we hoped. Understandable for a dog who had probably lived her whole life in a small enclosure and had just gotten her first taste of freedom.

After a long weekend of moving the crate outside six times a day for a thorough scrubbing and what felt like loads and loads of laundry on the “sterilize” cycle, we were exhausted. Just as we were about to throw in the towel and beg for relief, a miracle happened — we were contacted by the most remarkable woman, looking to foster a dog just like Petunia.

Cautiously, I talked her through all of the great things about her. Then, I slowly unraveled the challenges — “dirty dog syndrome,” some potential dog-reactivity, fear of anything new. I held my breath. “I would be honored to take her,” the angel said. Only it wasn’t an angel. It was a real live superhero– Petunia’s new foster mama.

Stay tuned for a Monday update on how Petunia is faring in her new foster home . . .

Dog rescue has amazed us before, like when our elderbull foster Little Zee was adopted so quickly, and when Gonzo Bunny-Ears saved the life of another bunny-eared dog at our local shelter. This weekend, magic struck once again.

Nutty Brown’s (then Macky Mack) journey from Log Cabin, Texas was a long one not just literally, but figuratively, too. He had suffered a life of neglect at the end of a chain, probably never seeing the inside of a house or a hearty meal. His life has made a 180 degree turnaround since then: just a month later, some of his favorite things are leisurely walks to the coffee shop to flirt with the ladies, long naps on the sofa, and gourmet dog treats.

You can see the transformation in his face: look at his beautiful fur, his clean, clear eyes, and his easy, relaxed appearance:

His lovely new family fell in love with his handsome face on our rescue’s lineup, and the rest is history. At their first meeting, they couldn’t get over how handsome and friendly he is — especially after hearing all he’s been through. They were so smitten that they wanted to keep him that very day!

Instead we gave them a night to think it over and shop for supplies, and on Saturday we delivered him to his new home. Everybody — including Nutty — was grinning from ear to ear. A match made in heaven.

Congrats, y’all!

Yo. We’re the Chick and the Dude, and we’re here with a very special announcement! And no, it’s not about the newly pink walls in our office / den / dog play room.

See these awesome new bowties and matching collars we’ve been gifted? That means that we’re a Really Big Deal and that we have important news to share, so listen up!

Sirius Republic — creator and purveyor of the cutest dog collars ever — has teamed up with our rescue group on ten brand new collar designs! We were all out on the back patio having a nice martini on the adirondack chairs when they came in the mail, and when mama first opened them, we started bickering over who got to keep which ones — we thought there were five for each of us, one for each workday!

Well, it turned that there was a special pair of matching collars just for us, but the ten new designs are NOT for us.  They’re for the adoptable dogs of Love-A-Bull. Isn’t that nice? For some of these dogs, a Sirius Republic collar will be the first new thing of their very own they’ve ever had. That makes us boys a little teary-eyed, you know?

These ten lovely designs (the Sirius Republic for Love-A-Bull collection) have never been seen or worn before — not by anybuddy, not even us! And you know what’s even cooler? Sirius Republic let Love-A-Bull’s executive team name the collars themselves! I asked mama to put in a good word for me and suggest that they name the collars after me (the Chick, the Chickster, the Chick-star, the Chick-a-nator, etc) but they chose to go in a different direction and name them after special Austin landmarks. Not as cool as naming them after me, but still, not too shabby!

So we present to you, from left to right:

Broken Spoke, Waterloo, Enchanted Rock, Texas Two-Step, Deep Eddy, Stacy Pool, Barton Springs, Lady Bird, Red Bud, and Hippie Hollow!

You can buy these ten new designs from Sirius Republic in the special Love-A-Bull section of their website, and if you go over there right now, you’ll see us two dogs as the cover models. And us two dogs are the cover models for the initiative. Doggone cool, if you ask me. But it gets even better! For every collar of these ten patterns sold by Sirius Republic, 20% of the proceeds will be donated directly to Love-A-Bull! That means that you guys buying these ultra-cute collars will not only be bringing a little piece of Austin into your home, but also helping Love-A-Bull to save more dogs like the Dude!

Ok, you’re probably so exhausted from all of this excitement that you’re ready for a nap, but just one more thing– probably the coolest thing of all: Between now and Monday, Love-A-Bull is allowing its blog readers to decide which Adopt-A-Bull gets which collar. Love-A-Bull will pick a winner at random, and the person whose choices are selected will also get a free Love-A-Bull t-shirt! So hop on over and play— the contest ends on Tuesday!

Be honest: you’ve noticed Snickerdoodle’s handsome outfit, right?

The Dude is sporting the Sirius Republic chain martingdale collar in Candy Apple. Don’t it make him look like a supermodel? We think so, and so does he.

We first learned about Sirius Republic on the blogosphere, and ordered our first Sirius Republic collar for foster dog Stevie Wonder last July. That’s all it took, and we were hooked. We since have picked out Sirius Republic collars for Little Zee, Curious Georgia, Dora the Explorer, and now Snickerdoodle.

We have so much fun picking out a pattern and collar style that matches each dog — there are so many to choose from. It feels like a fun way to enhance their very individual personalities, beyond just our words and photos on the blog. We also love sending the beautiful, sturdy, hand-crafted collars on to each dog’s forever-home with them, as a little bridge between their past and their future.

The Dude’s collar is our first chain martingdale, which we first spied at our hike in California with Sirius’ own Jen and  Chilly the Elderbull, who was wearing her own lovely version. We love that it has a little bit of a lighter appearance than the classic martingdale, and the chain makes a bit of a sound when it tightens and loosens, which is helpful for some dogs in learning loose leash walking. The Dude likes it because he thinks the chain is a nice manly offset to the pinkish-and-cream collar.

We got Doodlebug’s duds in the mail shortly after he arrived in our home, and we all adored it right away. He gets so many compliments on it when we’re out and about that he has asked the good folks at Sirius to mail him some business cards for him to share with his admirers!

Over the months, we have developed a much more personal relationship — dare I say friendship– with Jen at Sirius Republic. But she has been so kind and generous to us since the start. She has given us — and other foster families — discounts for foster dog collars, and even mailed us Dora the Explorer’s collar as a special surprise gift that took our breath away.

Just now we’re embarking on a partnership with Sirius Republic for a new, very exciting promotion –including a fun, interactive game — with Doodelbug’s rescue. Stay tuned for an announcement on the Love-A-Bull blog later in the week!

And click here to check out Sirius Republic’s stunning line of outfits!

New post today at our other blog — about pit bull advocacy, education, rescue, and events in Texas — click here.

We promised ourselves that we would take a break until the new year, and we’re holding to it. Today we bring you a timely guest post from Bernice Spradlin, a talented young writer who contacted us a few weeks back with a great holiday blog idea.

This post is for all those families who bring home a brand new puppy for Christmas or Hannukah. Enjoy!

Helpful advice for keeping dog dangers at a paw’s length

Your new puppy is like a baby. Well, essentially that’s what he or she is—a baby dog. And when I brought my new puppy home, I learned that babies make messes, chew on stuff, and get into things and areas that they shouldn’t. When I inquired with a puppy trainer, she told me that this is what puppies do until they are trained to know right from wrong—just like children.

I decided to teach my new dog a few new tricks, so I enrolled him in puppy class.  As he matured, he learned to stay off of my leather furniture, chew on his or her toys only, and go to the bathroom outside and not on my daughter’s bedroom carpet. I have this advice for new puppy owners: understand that training a new puppy will take time and patience.

However in the meantime, as your puppy grows and learns, here are eight helpful tips that I learned from my vet, my puppy trainer, and other friends with puppies, for puppy proofing my home:

1. Pick up anything chewable:

Like babies, your new puppy will be a chewing machine. For instance, my puppy, Ruddy, didn’t mean to ruin my new shoes or embarrass me by eating your garbage whenever I had my parents over for dinner. He chewed to ease teething pain and as a natural habit to keep his teeth strong. Unfortunately, you can’t give a pup cheap Canadian drugs like baby Tylenol as you can a baby. I was told by my vet to try freezing one of Ruddy’s chew toys or massaging his gums to relieve teething pain. Instead of leaving my shoes and clothes out for pup to chew, I investes in some chew toys and garbage cans with air tight lids to keep items I didn’t want puppy to chew at paw’s length.

2. Protect pup from electrical cords:

You bet that if you have excessive television or speaker wires and cords loose around your home, puppy is going to chew them. I was so afraid that Ruddy would cause a fire or hurt himself, so I invested in some plastic zip ties and tucked wires away underneath trim. This will keep puppy from electric shock and you from replacing your expensive audio-visual system.

3. Put prescriptions and other household drugs out of reach:

Medicines should be kept in cabinets. Never doubt the power of puppy’s chew against one of those little plastic prescription bottles. At puppy age, Ruddy could chew through a screen door so a plastic lid would have been no problem at all.

4. Tuck up cords to blinds and curtains:

Those tempting dangling cords to window blinds and curtains can be fatal to your pup if they become entangled or strangled. I was told to tuck up all cords to window coverings by tying knots to keep the cords high up and out of jump range.

5. Lock away hazardous chemicals:

Windshield washer fluid, cleaning products, gasoline, bleach—all can be fatal to your pet if ingested. Your best bet is to lock them away in your garage, shed or basement, far away from nosy puppy. Ruddy has never gotten a whiff of any of these because I keep them in my locked shed.

6. Keep dog food in plastic containers:

Puppies are gluttonous beasts! If left with a full bag of Puppy Chow, Ruddy would eat until he got sick. However, if you store the dog food in large plastic, airtight containers, you will save money on carpet cleaner and dog food.

7. Ban toxic plants from your home:

Certain plants, such as aloe vera, lilies, baby’s breath, poinsettias, and daffodils are toxic if pets ingest them. Your puppy’s immune system is still developing, so keeping them away from toxic substances is essential. I used to just tell friends and family not to buy me plants or flowers because Ruddy will try to eat them. He doesn’t bother with them now that he’s a trained, responsible adult pooch.

8. Pass on the dark chocolate:

Chocolate, especially the rich dark variety, is toxic for dogs. Not only that, but a curious puppy will eat the chocolate and wrapper together, which can get caught in their digestive tract and cause a whole slew of health concerns. I did my pup a favor and didn’t dare tempt fate by keeping candy dishes tucked away in cupboards and off counters. This way, Ruddy couldn’t get to them even if he tried.

Bernice Spradlin is an avid hiker and runner. She works at a gym in Brooklyn, New York, where she gets great inspiration for her freelance health-related articles and blogs. In her off time, you can often find Bernice jogging the East River path along the waterfront and enjoying the cool breeze. Bernice is currently looking for freelance writing work, and can be contacted at BerniceG.Spradlin@gmail.com

Ever wondered what 200 dehydrated cow penises looks like? Wonder no further.

Ever wondered how much joy they can bring to a shelter full of dogs, on a dark December night? Here’s a picture worth a thousand words:

When three boxes of bully sticks arrived in the mail from our friend Handsome Dan‘s holiday bully stick drive, adoptable Dora the Explorer and I couldn’t wait to get our hands on them. We opened the packages, counted the sticks, and sniffed them with enthusiasm. Well, Dora sniffed them while I wrinkled my nose.

215 bully sticks! We couldn’t believe it. Handsome Dan and his mama, being the generous beauties that they are, organized a bully stick drive for the Providence, RI shelter where they do most of their work, on Handsome Dan’s facebook page. They had hoped to receive enough to offer one to each dog at two Providence shelters — about 100 sticks. Instead, they received about 600 — a Christmas miracle! In the end, they were able to supply bully sticks to the homeless dogs of Rhode Island, but also the dogs of Animal Farm Foundation in New York, the shelter dogs of Portland, Maine, all the dogs at the Philly SPCA, and the 200+ dogs at Austin’s new state-of-the-art facility, the Austin Animal Center.

So on my birthday, I set off with a pal from Love-a-Bull to deliver yummy snacks to Austin’s homeless dogs. After all, nothing says “happy birthday” to a vegetarian like handling 200 dehydrated cow parts, right?

The new facility is beautiful, sparkling, and meticulously planned. Although it houses more than 200 dogs — the largest shelter I’ve been to — there is no chaos, no excessive noise, and no mess. Dogs all have climate-controlled indoor-outdoor runs, and cats have cozy, private indoor nests. When we were there last night — a random Tuesday just before Christmas — there were dozens of volunteers walking around, socializing the dogs.

Still, the dogs were thrilled to receive a special holiday treat from Handsome Dan, and most of them took to their chewy task with great seriousness and enthusiasm. Here are a few photos of the delivery.

If you have the pre-holiday blues and are looking for a little pick-me-up, consider bringing some treats to the homeless dogs at your own municipal shelter. Be brave — handing out a yummy snack to dogs waiting for homes will be so much more fun than you think.

Happy holidays, little ones of the Austin Animal Center!

For more info on adopting Dora the Explorer, click here or contact us at info [at] loveandaleash [dot] com.

Once upon a time, adoptable Miss Dora the Explorer lived outside in a yard with several other dogs. She and her siblings had little shelter and no access to vet care. The yard that was their home was not very secure, so Dora would take herself for walks around the neighborhood from time to time.  Not surprisingly, she ended up a teenage mom.

Luckily Dora’s people did care for her as well as they felt able, and when they heard about a free pit bull spay/neuter day in their neighborhood in East Austin, they decided to walk her over.

It turned out Dora had heartworm. Heartworm is a type of parasite that travels from host to host via mosquito bite.  The heartworms live in arteries and lung tissue, and can eventually enter the heart. Mild and early cases of heartworm are often asymptomatic, while more severe cases can present as fainting, fast exhaustion during exercise, loss of appetite, weight loss, or a bloody cough. If heartworm is not treated, it can lead to much suffering and heart failure.

After some conversations with Love-a-Bull, Dora’s person agreed to surrender her. He could not provide her the care she needed, and understood that she would be better off in another home. It’s hard to overstate how much we admire this gentleman’s courage for giving her the opportunity to have the life she deserves instead of giving in to the very human urge to keep what is dear to him — his sweet little dog.

For the past couple of months, Dora has successfully undergone heartworm treatment. The treatment is long, complicated, somewhat risky, and very expensive. The most common potion used to treat heartworm includes a form of arsenic as a key ingredient — the roundworms are basically poisoned slowly with low doses of a deadly toxin. During the months-long treatment period, it is imperative to keep the dog calm because the meds are very taxing for the dog’s system. After the course of treatment is through, the dog has to stay cool and mellow for another few weeks or months, and then — if all goes well — we all do a little victory dance and go for a nice vigorous run.

Our sweet Miss Dora passed her treatment with flying colors and came out healthy as a horse. Judging by this girl’s bouncy attitude, you wouldn’t guess that her system was overrun by nasty little roundworms just a couple of months ago. Dora is still in the nice-and-easy stage of post-treatment, but she can’t wait to put on her dancing shoes and celebrate her new-found perfect health!

For more info on adopting Dora the Explorer, click here or contact us at info [at] loveandaleash [dot] com.