Hello Joe!

Joey came to the fort bright and early this morning for his assessment. He is a handsome, five year old, 20 pound, Lhasa Apso. We are not exactly sure how Joey felt about the Little Roll upstairs and all it's little rascals. In time we believe he will enjoy himself more, first days can be jittery. I know they were for me when the first day of school would roll around lol!

Take care,

-Grant

Happy and the ladies...

We don't typically think of Happy (a wiley Samoyed mix) as a ladies man here at the fort. However, the charms of two Black Labs (Maxie & Sarah) were just too much for him to resist today hahaha. Check it out!



Take it easy,

-Grant
P.S. Found an awesome article this morning, it is a Cute alert lol, dog nurses baby squirrels who lost their home.

Bailey

Welcome Bailey!

She had her first Fort Fido visit this morning. Bailey is a two year old, 65 pound, Lab Mix. She did well for her first day and played with a handful of pups in the Big Roll. Bailey's owners are doing a fine job of staying in control with her... She is a spitfire lol!

Take care,

-Grant

Whoever said size matters?

It certainly doesn't to Maggie the German Shepherd or Teddy the Shih tzu/Dachshund mix. Here's a clip of them tearing it up-- Maggie knows just how to handle the little firecracker!



Maggie also has a good time wrestling around with Bruiser the Schipperke, who is a small guy too (but don't tell him!). Lulu the Golden Retriever and Teddy also stepped into the mix for a romp.



Everyone have a wonderful weekend, and (if it is your Spring Break) a nice vacation next week!

--Hope

Bark and Bid 2010

The Prison Pet Partnership is a program in which inmates of the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) adopt dogs and train them to be service animals. This provides the inmates with valuable skills (such as grooming and dog training), and drastically reduces the rates of recidivism. The dogs that pass the test to become service animals are then donated to persons with disabilities who could not otherwise afford it. Dogs which are not quite capable of the high level of performance required are still adopted out to good homes. This truly is a win-win situation for all involved.

The PPP will be having its annual Bark and Bid charity auction on Saturday May 22nd. For more information, you can check out their website. Fort Fido will be donating a basket of supplies to the auction, perfect for a new puppy! You can only participate in the auction in person that Saturday from 4:00 - 7:00 PM at the Afifi Shriners Center in Tacoma.

Please come and support this great program!

--Hope

Ethical dog behavior

Pearl's mom Julia brought us this article last night, and I thought that I should share it. The article talks about some "rules" that dogs follow when they interact. It reminds me of the way that my siblings and I were expected to behave when my mom said to be on our "best behavior," lol. The four rules are (1) communicate clearly, (2) mind your manners, (3) admit when you are wrong, and (4) be honest. We see dogs playing by these rules all the time at the Fort.




I think that this video exemplifies fair play. Because of her great size, Athena the Great Dane could always be the "top dog," but she doesn't choose to exploit this. Rather, she plays nicely with the smaller dogs, Hektor the German Shepherd and Buddy the Labrador. Well, smaller in comparison to her!

Have a good evening!
Hope

dog age chart, beer, Bella & Finn

Hey everybody,

Our Manager Hope has had a number of great blog posts this week, check them out if you haven't already.

I found this awesome dog age chart last weekend and had to share it. I'm so used to the old, one year for us = seven years for them ratio. This is obviously much more accurate.

This next link may not be for everyone but I got a chuckle out of it, I bring you, "Dogs with Beer" hahaha.

*Fort Fido, LLC does not condone giving your dog beer or any alcohol for that matter, these are just funny photos... Although some people say a bit of beer every once in awhile is good for the coat, seriously, we've heard that a couple times lol. I imagine this would be a better alternative (non-alcoholic)*

Enjoy the sun,

-Grant
P.S. Here is a clip of Finn the Yellow Lab having a super time with a pretty Great Dane named Bella. Finny has this crazy love affair with Danes haha, enjoy!

Welcome to Charlotte!

We welcomed another newcomer this morning. Charlotte is a four-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She was somewhat wary of her new surroundings (the big tike-toy was a little startling to her), but seems to be warming up to it. At home she tries to play with her sibling, an eleven-year-old Shih Tzu, and is also friendly with the neighbor dog, so I think that she'll bust out the moves here soon enough. All in all, she is a very waggly little girl whom we would love to see back again.

In other news, you can check out an article about the Iditarod here. This has been the first year since the 1980's when the race ended without any fatalities. Apparently the new veterinary precautions and requirements are doing their job perfectly.

Enjoy the sun,

Hope

Makin' a Splash & Animal Blessings

We had another assessment today, five-year-old Splash, an Australian Shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix. He was very calm, and fit in well with the medium dogs. He started off slowly this morning, but soon warmed up to the advances of Lila, a mixed breed dog. Here's a clip of them playing!


And speaking of Lila, she was featured in a short piece by KOMO 4 news about Rev. Alec Branson, who offers blessings for pets in his barn-chapel in Auburn. If you watch the clip here, (you may have to wait through an advertisement) you can see a part of Lila's blessing and learn a little more about this special service.

Have a good afternoon, and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Hope

Buddy is joining the Fido Pack

This is Buddy, an eight-month old lab who had his first day of daycare at the Fort today. He's going to be a big one-- he already weighs in at almost seventy pounds! You have to watch your step when going into the play area with him- he loves to walk right between your legs and look up at you.

Buddy was eager to meet the other dogs, and had a great time running around with another yellow lab named Finn when he first entered the play area this morning. Finn is the more yellow of the two, and Buddy is the whiter one.

He sure seems like he'll be a great addition to our pack. :-D



Have a great weekend, and enjoy the sunshine!

Hope

Meet Fendi!

Talk about precious, Fendi is the definition of it (especially in that pic) lol! She had her assessment this morning and did quite well in the Little Roll. Fendi is a seven month old, ten pound, Italian Greyhound. She put the moves on a few of the lads upstairs. We thought she had a pretty good first day and can't wait to see more of her. Way to go Fendi!

Have a sunny Saturday!

-Grant

Congrats to Lance Mackey!

I'm a little late on posting this but congratulations to Lance Mackey. He just won his fourth Iditarod in a row, absolutely amazing!

Here are two articles about the epic event and a link to Mackey's website:

Mackey first to win four straight races

Iditarod Day 11: Top 10 mushers have great runs

Mackey's website

Cheers,

-Grant

New Toys!

Thought I'd show everyone some of the cool new toys and stuffs we got at the fort!

We really like this line of treats... Only four ingredients, no nasty junk!

This is a huge green spider lol it's gotta be fun! Some new fuzzy discs are there too.

I'm not sure what you call this guy (Muskrat? Chinchilla?) but he is big and cute, makes a fun noise as well.

Animal planet has come out with an awesome line of toys, here are a few of them.

We've had these Mallard dudes before and they are popular.

Another Animal Planet toy (my personal favorite), a Polly for Fido!

Take it easy,

-Grant

Welcome Tula

Tula is a energetic little cutie... Her assessment was this morning. She is a Shih Tzu / Havanese mix, about 13 pounds and 15 months old. It took Tula about a half hour to warm up to the group, after that it was game on! She played well with the others in the Little Roll and has a great "Play-Bow".

Cheers,

-Grant

iditarod

I have been hooked on checking out iditarod.com ...

The defending champion Lance Mackey has been in the lead for some time now. I'm a fair weather fan so of course I'm rooting for him lol. I think he's a good guy and it's obvious that this sport is in his blood. Pretty exciting, I saw Lance in 48th, 12th and 2nd! I am new to this sport but enjoy it, the website is very interactive and nicely done. I'd rather stay up on this than NASCAR any day hahaha.

Cheers,

-Grant

Friendly Play

I thought that I should blog today with a few clips of the action. This first one is a great example of low-speed play: Lila the mixed breed and Kyoshi the Akita can be seen here neck-fighting.


In this next clip, Lila and Bruiser the Schipperke play a game of Ring-around-the-Rosie!


Lastly we have Marty the Irish Terrier mix and Buddy the Springer Spaniel, having some fun!


Have a great weekend everyone-- and don't forget about Daylight Savings tonight/tomorrow!

Hope

New Pup Niko

Niko was this morning's assessment. He is a adorable, four month old, 20 pound, Australian Shepherd / Sheba Inu mix. Niko is one awesome little dog. He had a blast today upstairs in the Little Roll (but may venture to the Medium Roll as he grows) and we hope he'll be tired!

I found this Whiskers Wine & Dine event on the Feed Tacoma site this morning. It's last minute but thought I'd post it up anyhow.

Have a nice weekend,

-Grant

dog news

Just a couple of doggie news articles found this morning.

Not sure where I stand on this one.

This was pretty cool, I like the idea of using the Iditarod as a model for students math/science projects.

Great dog photos here.

Lost Oregon dogs found in Washington, lucky!

Take care,

-Grant

Boo!

Boo had her assessment this morning and she wasn't scary at all lol! Her owners got her last October, hence the name. She is a five month old, 13 pound Labradoodle, very cute! Boo did well in the Medium Roll, getting along and playing nicely with the others.

Take it easy,

-Grant

Clips

This first clip is of Jake and Bear (Newfoundland / Lab Mix) having a friendly wrestling match.



The second clip is of Cooper, Lila (Border Collie Mix) & Sofie running-a-muck.



Cheers,

-Grant

Vet Care Is Easy @ The Fort

Mom (Nancy) and Dad (David) have added a new sign to the lobby (minus the cartoon above lol), I thought I'd share it.

To our valued Fort Fido customers:

All Pets coming to Fort Fido are required to have regular vaccinations and fecal tests. This is how we keep our Doggie Daycare healthy and disease free.

We understand that busy schedules can interfere with keeping your pet's vaccinations up-to-date. We can take your pet to the vet clinic next door for his or her vaccines, you won't have to pay two bills, we will give you an invoice of all shots given, which you pay straight to us. A handling fee of $10.00 will be applied for this service. Thanks for doing your part to keep The Fort a safe and healthy place for all dogs to visit!

Woof woof! That's your pet thanking you!

Take care,

-Grant
P.S. Fircrest Vet hospital also offers overnight boarding, nail trims and baths!

And they're off!

Today is the first Saturday in March, and that announces the beginning of the most famous (and controversial) dog race of the year: the Iditarod. This annual race is a grueling 1,161 miles, which these amazing doggie-athletes can run in nine to fifteen days, through freezing temperatures and blizzards. This race can be incredibly dangerous for the unprepared: both mushers and dogs. For this reason there has recently been a movement away from supporting the race; the winner's purse is down almost $50,000 this year due to lack of sponsor support.

There is a lot more veterinary care given to dogs in the years since the establishment of "Mush With PRIDE (Providing Responsible Information on a Dog's Environment)" in 1991; this year over thirty-five volunteer veterinarians will be performing exams at every checkpoint along the race. Mushers must also present the vets with a dog care log, showing details of when they were last rested and fed. Dogs who are unable to continue in the race are "dropped" at these checkpoints.

The race remains, at least, a tribute to the 1925 serum run to Nome, which saved the small town from a diphtheria outbreak. Perhaps we can come up with a safer way to honor that extraordinary act of heroism.

As for me, hearing about the Iditarod always brings to mind one of my favorite childhood movies: Balto.

Have a good weekend!

Hope

PS-- If you're interested in keeping track of the race, you can follow the standings by clicking here.

Hey there Bailey and some other stuff

Wow, what a busy week of new pups... Luckily for us they all turned out to be pretty awesome. This morning's assessment was no exception. Welcome Bailey, he is a four year old, 35 pound Pug/Beagle mix. He is going to be a grand addition to the Medium Roll!

Here are a few more neat Motorcycle Dog pics from the Oasis Blog.

Articles like this one can really put a smile on your face, way to go!

Have a relaxing weekend,

-Grant

Sofie being cute...

And or getting sleepy. Dave (Dad) snapped this shot of her last week. She is a mischievous, mixed, Medium Roller. Sofie may be part Belgian Malinois, that's one guess anyway. :)

Cheers,

-Grant

Welcome Nica ! ! !

Nica is a rowdy Boxer/Border Collie mix. She is six months old and about 30 pounds. Nica played like gangbusters, she burst through Fort Fido's doors ready to go! We originally thought she would be a Medium Roller but due to her high energy level she started in the Big Roll. Nica had an enjoyable time playing hard, I bet we will be seeing more of her (She's gonna be tired!).

Take it easy,

-Grant

* Gracie *

Gracie was our assessment in the Little Roll this morning. She is a perky little 18 week old, six pound, Shih Tzu mix. Gracie is just getting socialized with other pups, she was a bit nervous yet did fine upstairs... She is more into people at this point but we know she is young enough to come around and "play doggie". We guess that Gracie will be bursting with play soon!

Cheers,

-Grant
P.S. This picture had me crackin' up and this is another nice article about Treo the bomb sniffing dog!

Rooney & Welcome Back Summer!

Rooney had his assessment bright and early this morning. He is a two and a half year old, 20 pound, Pug. Rooney is a cute little guy who didn't do half bad in the Medium Roll. He ran around some with Bruiser and seemed to enjoy his stay... Rooney's sister Summer came to the fort a few years ago and is starting up again. She is a very nice Yellow Lab that gets along well with the others in the Big Roll.

Cheers,

-Grant