Day 166 - Gizmo has a new Family!!!

So a lot has happened in the last few weeks. Mom had a few applications for Gizmo. She even took her to an Adopt-A-Thon where people could come and see a bunch of the dogs/puppies and cats that AARCS has up for adoption. Mom said that Gizmo did pretty good considering she has never been in a store or around so much unknown things for her.
The first application didn't work out but Mom wasn't worried, she just told Gizmo that the right family is out there and we have to be patient. Well boy was Mom right.
So on Saturday a family came to visit Gizmo, Dad, son and daughter and I even got to meet them too. At first Dad put Tanner and me downstairs so that Gizmo could get all the attention and they all seemed to really like eachother. Gizmo was giving lots of kisses and the best part was they brough her a new toy and treats. How sweet was that!!! Finally after a bit Mom said that we could come up stairs and meet the family too, I mean we want to give our thumbs up or down since she is our sister. Both Tanner and I really liked them too, I sat very nicely beside the Boy and he gave me lots of pets.
Then Mom and the family took Gizmo for a walk so they could see how she was with J - she is 11 and was so excited about getting a puppy. Well Giz did great, she was a little scared but that is to be expected.
So they really liked her but they also have a cat at home so it was important to make sure everyone in the family got along. On Sunday Mom took Gizmo to their house so she could meet the cat and the Mom.
I guess the first meeting went really well, Gizmo sniffed and actually pointed with her paw (she has never done that before) but the cat just smelt her and went upstairs. So they let Gizmo check out the house and everyone, even the back yard. Which Gizmo told me was awesome.
Some friends came over to see her as well and Gizmo took everything in stride and was very calm. The cat did come downstairs later to again check out Gizmo and there was a bit of hissing which scared her and she ran to the pillow they had on the floor. They all feel that they will be fine and get along no problem once they are used to eachother and sharing the space. Lets face it Cats always rule the house anyway.
So Mom got the official call last night that they definately want to Adopt Gizmo and the plan is to pick her up on Monday, April 9th. So that gives me a week to play with her.
We are all gonig to miss her but we are also super happy she is going to such a fabulous home.

Day 145 - Gizmo is a super star

Part of going up for adoption AARCS sends over a professional photographer to take pictures of all of the great dogs/cat/puppies/kittens. These photographers do this for free with advertising and let me tell you Sheena of Blinking Cow was amazing. If you check out her website go to Community and there is a list of the rescue's she helps out. We are very grateful for this. She also is on Facebook so like her page and its so much fun to see all her new animals. She has given Mom permission to show some of Gizmo's pictures. OK I actually didn't get to meet her since Mom made Tanner and me stay downstairs with Dad so we wouldn't steal the show... he he! I mean I have a lot of cuteness in me too. But Mom showed me the pictures.
Mom & Dad went on vacation with out us and let me tell you, I hate it when I see the suit cases come out. Cause whenever that happens it means we aren't going with them. :(
But the good news is we had S&S&L stay with us and they brought my BFF Cooper with them. We had 10 days of play play play. Gizmo really likes Cooper too so the 3 of us were like the 3 Musketeers. OH Mom is making me apologize cause whenever she leaves me I get kinda upset and I ate a plant, the shoe laces of one of S's shoes and Gizmo & I chewed some makeup brushes we found. OH and we are really sorry for ripping one of her shirts we stole out of the laundry basket. I just can't help myself I get so worried that I'm going to be left again.. OK Mom I said it, hope we are OK again!! :)
We were all very happy when they got home, I could tell they missed us too.
So Gizmo is now 6 months and weighs about 29lbs. That's still smaller than me but she has grown and is a lot taller. But she is still a long ways from Tanner, he he!!! She is also starting to get into trouble. Testing Mom & Dad but they still rave about how good she is.
She is also really sensitive, when they do catch her doing something and tell her "NO" she goes and sulks on her bed and won't even look at them.. what a baby.
Well this is it for updates, we are still patiently waiting for someone to want to adopt Gizmo, I can personally vouch for her.. she is a sweet heart even though she kisses too much.

Day 124 - Up for Adoption

So we have big news, Gizmo went to the Vets on Friday.. I felt so bad for her cause she did not get to eat breakfast. Mom left for work and took Gizmo with her and I guess she dropped her off at the vets to be spayed.

Mom called later that day to check on her and was told she was just waking up (whew we were worried). I guess her heart murmur is still there and stress induced, during the operation it went to a level 3 which is pretty high. But she made and is doing super well. When Mom brought her home she just went to her bed under the computer and slept. She then went into her kennel when we all went to bed.

I guess she woke Mom up at 3 but would not leave the kennel, Mom was worried that she might start to lick her stitches so literally slept on the floor by her kennel to make sure she was ok.

She also was able to eat some food at 3 AM as well. I think that made her feel better. She had a hard time getting comfortable and was not sleeping well so it was a rough night for Mom, but in the morning everyone was acting more like themselves. Gizmo ate a good breakfast and went outside to do her business.

Mom had to go out for a bit so put a cone of shame on her but we decided in her case it was a Cone of Pride.

She actually wasn't bugging her stitches so Mom has not put the cone on again. By Monday she was back to normal and trying to play with me. Mom put a stop to that though and when we went to the dog park Gizmo had to be on the lead to keep her from running and playing too much. I guess she has to do this for at least a week. That's a hard thing to do when you are a dog.

So now that Gizmo has been spayed she is officially up for adoptions. Check out her profile on the AARCS website and tell all your friends about her. She needs a great home. http://www.albertaanimalrescuecrew.com/profile.php?id=1693&sourcePage=adoptions

She is also getting professional pictures taken on Wednesday. Mom is hopeful that the photographer will give her permission to post a pic or two on the blog. So check back later.

Day 116 - Gizmo Update

Hey Everyone,

Again its been a while but really not much has happened lately.

Tanner and Gizmo were under the weather a bit and had a bad cough. Tanner got it first and went to the vets where they gave him a shot and some medicine. Gizmo started coughing a week later and Mom took her to the vets, they felt she was pretty good and just told Mom to give her steam baths and pound her side to help with the Phlegm.
It was pretty funny as Mom started to take Gizmo into the shower every morning with her. They have a big shower with a seat so Gizmo would just sit and take in the steam.. Mom was super impressed that she just sat there and didn't even try to escape. I tell you, I would not have been so good... cause I don't like baths of any type....

The vet also checked out Gizmo's heart and ......(drum roll here) He could not hear a murmur...yipppeeeee. This means that she will go in for her spay soon and then be up for adoption. That part I don't like, cause we are now BFF's and play lots. I will miss her :( So fingers crossed that everything goes well on Feb 17th.


Hey we had a big party at the house on the weekend. Mom & Dad celebrated Valentines and their engagement. Lots of people came over. I don't really like crowds so I would go back and forth from getting pets to hiding under the end table and just watching. Gizmo though did really well and liked all the people.. and Cooper came to visit as well so they played lots and were happy with all the people around.


Well that's about it for now, here are some pictures of Gizmo. One you can see my nose in it.. I don't know why Mom didn't put me in the picture too... the others are of Gizmo cuddled into the blankets.

Day 90 - New Boots

Wow, again lots has happened. Giz got to go on a play date with Sidney, I guess they really didn't want a lot to do with each other other than chase after the ball together but Mom was so happy because I guess Sidney remembered her and came running and jumped in her arms and gave lots of Sidney kisses. Mom was beaming when they came home. I guess she has Uppie ears like Giz, same height but still smaller in size. She is doing super duper good, we are all happy she found the most amazing forever home.
Then a week ago we were at the dog park and mom recognized a puppy from the AARCS website Bonnie. A cute little husky cross with 1 blue 1 brown eye. Well while Mom and Bonnie's foster Mom were talking, Gizmo and Bonnie started to play, this is the first time Gizmo has played with another puppy.. and I mean play they were rolling around wrestling and chasing each other.. I must admit it was fun to watch and it also meant Giz wasn't bugging me so I really like that. Mom was so happy, we walked with Bonnie and her Mom for the whole park so they could play together. It was a great day for Gizmo.
Well the cold weather hit, Dad took us to the park on Sunday but we only did 1 lap cause all of us were doing the little cold feet dance. So the last 2 nights Mom has been busy making boots for all of us. She has always made me boots but they were all full of holes from last year so I needed new ones.

Tanners boots that he had were also full of holes and of course Gizmo didn't have any.
Mom made mine first cause she has the pattern already, then she took one of mine and tried it on Giz, "it fit" so she continued to make some for Giz out of the same color as mine. We have nice dark Purple boots.

Then she had to measure Tanner and make his pattern. She tried them on, well he wasn't too impressed but I know he likes them once we are out in the snow.
Mom also put all 4 on Gizmo to see what she would do and get pictures. it was pretty funny but she actually did really well for a bit then she started to bite at them, so Mom took them off. We get to try them out tonight as its supposed to warm up to the low 20's, much better then the high 20's and into the 30's...brrrrrr that's cold.

Day 83 - Gizmo is getting big

OK, its been super busy with Christmas and everything but really MOM you could have found time to up date the blog. Anyway, wow lots has happened since Sidney left for her new home. Oh and by the way, Mom and Gizmo got to see her on Sunday and she is doing great. Mom was so excited because Sid remembered her and jumped into her arms and gave her lots and lots of kisses.. Mom is so sappy.

OK lets get updated, Gizmo was doing not too bad with out her sister. Nights were fine but during the day is where she had a hard time. She started to get out of the room. It took us a few days to figure it out, she was actually climbing the baby gate. Yikes and that meant I had to tolerate her all day!!!! she did use the paper on the floor though so Mom & Dad were happy about that.

So Mom moved her big wire kennel out into the area where Tanner and I hang out and she put her in that during the day. Well she was able to get out of it too! Dad fixed it though so she couldn't push the ends out. Now she is locked in during the day. I feel sorry for her but Mom says she has to be kennel trained for her new family and it will help with the house training too.

Mom's Parents were visiting before Christmas and they have 2 little dogs, Tara and Peppi. They are OK dogs, pretty much keep to themselves so I was OK with that. Mom had the whole family over on Dec 18 for our BIG Christmas dinner. 15 people and 8 dogs were here. I was a little worried especially since Rocky was coming over and he is not very good with puppies. But you know he did a few lip curls and growls and Gizmo left him alone. We had a great day, I got to play with my BBF Cooper and Gizmo joined in as well. So we had lots of fun that day and everyone had a great time.

We started to take Gizmo to the off leash park with us too and that was interesting. Everyone at the park loves her. She follows Tanner and me all over the place but won't go too far away from Mom and Dad. Mom is really pleased with her recall so far. She comes every time when called, of course sometimes there is a treat if you come right away, other times some great pets. I try to come right away too, but the odd time I'm into a really good smell and just can't leave it.. Mom and Dad get mad at me and put me on the leash when this happens. :(

Between Christmas and New Years, Gizmo went to the vets for her last set of shots. They checked her heart and weighted her. she was around 18lbs then and we think close to 20lbs now. They could still hear the heart murmur but said to them is seemed lighter so that is good news. They will check her at 5 months again.

Look at this great looking pack, after we put of the tree we had to take a picture.

Gizmo, Cooper, Kracker, Tanner

I have also started to play with her a bit, she isn't so bad now that she is a bigger. Just wish she would stop kissing me..yuck!!! We chase each other around the house with keep away and play tug-o-war. She is a lot of fun. Mom says though that she is a little bossy at the park and hasn't figured out that dogs just want to play. So Mom started to take her to some puppy classes and play time. Well the training part Gizmo is super good at it.. but the play part not so good. She really doesn't want to socialize with the other puppies and wants to be more of the play police. She has a hard time with a lot of movement and barks at the other puppies playing. One of the trainers told Mom not to worry but that she obviously has some sort of Herding breed in her... poor mom I think she was in denial with this but it looks like maybe she has a bit of Healer. Yup she definitely tries to heard and nips other dogs to get them to stop or do what she wants. Well that explains a lot, so Mom is now trying to teach her to retrieve as she will need a job to do in the park when she is older. I must admit she is pretty good at it and brings the toy back right away and drops it.

Well this is a long post and Mom says she has to go so to wrap it up. I will make Mom do a better job and we will let you know how Giz is doing and what else we are doing with AARCS.

Cheers everyone,
Kracker

Day 51 - Sidney has a new home

Wow, its a bitter sweet day around our house today. On Thursday, a really nice couple came to see Sidney. Mom left me and Tanner and Gizmo down stairs with Dad so they could spend quality time getting to know Sidney without us getting involved. Mom said they really liked her and she had a good feeling that this may be it.
Well I guess they called Mom on Friday and said they really wanted to Adopt "Crosby" aka Sidney aka Sid aka Sid the Kid. Mom was both really happy for her and sad cause everyone will miss her.. ok let me correct that, everyone but me will miss her. Ok well I might miss her a little, but don't tell anyone cause it will ruin my reputation as a tough guy.

They came to pick her up early this morning, they were so excited. It all went well, Mom said her good bye and so did Gizmo and off they went. Mom said she was going to a great home and that she is really happy about it.

Later this morning, it was interesting to see how Gizmo coped with it. It is definitely quiet around her. We got pretty used to Sid & Giz, running around and playing making lots of noise. Gizmo was playing with all the toys by herself, Mom was pretty happy to see that. So she seems to be doing ok by herself but they haven't left her alone yet. Mom said she will bring up the big crate upstairs so Giz will now sleep upstairs at night but still will stay in their room during the day. Oh and mom wants to take Giz to some puppy classes, she says its time to start some serious training with her. Whew, glad it's not me..
Anyway, I will keep you updated on what Mom is doing with AARCS and Gizmo as she grows and hopefully her Heart Murmur goes away as she gets older too.

Have a great day and I do wish Sidney the best with her new family.
Cheers, Kracker