The World's Rarest Dog: Rediscovered

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I wonder what the rarest dog breed is?" Well, I'm here to tell you that breed was rediscovered as of recently! 

For decades, we feared that the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog had gone extinct. We didn't see any evidence of it's existence until an expedition was made in 2016. We were able to locate, observe, gather documentation and biological samples! The researchers were able to get more than one hundred photographs of at least fifteen individuals including: females, males, and puppies.

 
The reason this was such a big deal to everyone was because until now, this breed was only known by two promising, but unconfirmed photos in recent years. There was one captured in 2005, and 2012. 

Because the team was able to observe up close and personal- and take samples from them, they discovered some pretty cool facts. The DNA analysis of their fecal samples confirmed their relationship to Australian Dingos, and New Guinea Singing Dogs. 

Due to our lack of evidence of the species, we aren't really sure how Dingoes, Singing dogs, and Highland Wild Dogs are related to one another... We're hoping this is something we will discover soon, because taking a step back, and understanding the roots of these breeds can help us get a better understanding of canine evolution.

The chances of survival for this species is actually pretty good! There was even a scientific paper written, on the discovery of them. Local mining companies have been going the extra mile to protect the remote areas that they're thriving, and roaming.

If you want to read more about the expedition, check out this link for the scientific document of their re-discovery:

http://www.nghwdf.org/hwds 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week,
~Shaunte'

Bradley

We met Bradley bright and early for his assessment this morning. His owner is unsure of his exact breed but one thing's for certain- he definitely has some German Shepherd in him! This unique looking guy is forty four pounds, and is four years old. Bradley joined our Large Dog Program where he hung out with Neo, our sassy Husky,and a few others. 

Check him out with his new friends!

 It's safe to say Bradley enjoyed himself here. We are looking forward to seeing him this weekend, when he returns for some Boarding fun! 

 


See you soon Bradley, and have a marvelous Monday everyone!

~Shaunte'

Snoopy

This morning we had the pleasure of welcoming Snoopy to the Fort. He is an eight-year-old, thirty-five-pound, Beagle. Snoopy joined our Medium Dog Program and enjoyed hanging out with the other dogs. He did a great job today and is welcome back anytime. We look forward to seeing him again soon.

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Fun Dog Videos

Dogs are certainly an entertaining animal, that's for sure! If you're ever bored, need a good laugh, or just some cheering up, dog videos are great things to watch. 

Check out some of these goofy videos that we found on the web.


You'll watch dogs throwing tantrums in this video- yes your kids aren't the only ones who can give sass, every now and then! ;)

And then this video is a compilation of a whole bunch of random silliness from our canine friends...

I hope these videos gave you a smile, :)
have a good night!

~Shaunte'

Olive

Olive was our three month old, twenty three pound assessment today... She's a Yellow Lab
with a whole lot of personality, and happiness to share with everyone. We noticed right off the bat that it wasn't going to take long for this girl to make some friends. As soon as she started meeting the other dogs that came to our Medium Dog Program today, she was a social butterfly.

Check out this photo for example. It's obvious that she loves being around others of her own kind. Doesn't she look happy? 




Olive made several friends but her favorite buddy of the day was  Phinnie, check them out romping around!

We even got some photos of her playing...

(click to enlarge) 

 

Check out those ears!

 We're looking forward to seeing this fun, young one soon. Have a good week,

~Shaunte'

 

Harlan, Zoey, and Ruby

Harlan came in to the Fort bright and early Tuesday morning for his assessment. He is a twelve-week-old, twenty-eight-pound, German Shepherd. Harlan is very well balanced and "speaks" good dog. He made lots of new friends in our Medium Dog Program.

Zoey joined the Fort yesterday. She is a two-year-old, thirty-five-pound, Border Collie. Zoey spent the day hanging out in our Large Dog Program. She quickly made friends with Fort Fido regular, Pippa. The two of them had a lot of fun playing together throughout the morning.

This morning we had the pleasure of meeting Ruby. She is a two-year-old, forty-five-pound, Polish Lowland Sheepdog. She joined our Medium Dog Program, and had a good time mingling with the other dogs. 

They all did a great job and are welcome back anytime. We look forward to seeing them again soon. 

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Niah and Marley

Niah was our first assessment of the day! She's only four months old, and is a Miniature Australian Shepherd. She joined our Puppy Program with ease, and walked in like she owned the place. Her sniffer was working on overdrive as she jumped from our pic-nic table, to our bench, and all around her new play area. She was also miss "social butterfly" and made several new friends. She was particularly fond of another puppy whose pretty new to us, Frank. It was cool to see them interacting together, as they learn proper dog mingling-mannerisms. We were lucky enough to catch these two in action as well!

P.S., when it was time for her to return home from her assessment, we practically had to drag her out. She wanted to stay and continue to play. It made us chuckle, and happy to know she enjoyed her short time with us.

Marley was our other assessment from today. He's three years old, weighs eighty pounds, and is a Goldendoodle who joined our Large Dog Program. We noticed right away that this guy is well socialized. He didn't waste any time, and was quick to make new friends to start his day of play! 

Check him out, having a blast in this video... 

Both dogs are welcome to come back and play with their new buddies whenever they please!

Take care,
~Shaunte'

Harley & Bella

This morning we had the pleasure of meeting Harley and Bella. Harley is a four-year-old, ten-pound, Long Haired Dachshund. Bella is a four-year-old, fourteen-pound, Boston Terrier. These two girls joined the Small Dog Program here at the Fort. They both enjoyed hanging out with the other dogs and making new friends.

Harley and Bella both did a great job and are welcome back anytime. We look forward to seeing them again soon!

Have a great weekend,

- Gary

Chibs and Dutch

Chibs was yesterday's assessment. He's only seven months old, weighs forty pounds and is a Golden Retriever. He joined our Medium Dog Program with ease and really enjoyed himself as the morning progressed. We noticed that this little guy was a tad bit shy at first but with time around all the other dogs, he gained some confidence. We think Chibs will blossom into a wonderful daycare dog and make several friends the more he comes here...

Dutch joined our Medium Dog Program just like Chibs did. He's an adorable French Bulldog, that weighs twenty pounds and is only six months old. He still has some growing to do! Dutch is a ball of energy, has lots of personality, and is very spunky. He's a social butterfly, making friends with everyone! We were able to capture him being goofy and checking the place out below.

As you can see, Dutch was all over the place this morning...

We're looking forward to seeing Chibs and Dutch return for more fun with our Medium Dogs! Have a good day,

~Shaunte'

Hum Boa "Bowzer"

Bowzer was our eleven month old, fifteen pound Pug that joined our Medium Dog Program this morning. He did exceptionally well. We noticed pretty quickly that today wasn't the first day he's interacted with other dogs. He was showing great dog speak. His tail was wagging, and he even made a few new friends! Bowzer is new to us, but his parents aren't. Bowzer's older brother, Boe, has been attending here since December of 2016. 

We're looking forward to getting to know Bowzer more, as he starts attending here regularly. 

Have a good rest of your day,
~Shaunte' 

Beating the Heat!

In order to beat the heat, we brought out the pools this week. Check out these clips of the pups having a blast playing in the water.

Zeus and Frankie in our Medium Dog Program.

Pippa and Neo in our Large Dog Program.

Ramses takes on a big chunk of ice.

Ryker relaxing in the pool.

Have a great weekend,
- Gary

The Inseperable Pair: Sergeant and Neo

(Click to enlarge photos)

I'm sure some of you have seen these two featured on our Facebook from time to time; they are inseparable...

Sergeant is a goofy guy, and loves to play with all sorts of things; Leaves, dog fuzz flying by, and even his own Bandana! Neo is a spunky Husky that loves to keep up with his silly shenanigans. Him and Neo kept themselves occupied for most of the morning, by playing with Sergeant's Bandana.  

So silly

I love watching their face expressions while they're playing. Neo is a talker, and Sergeant has VERY expressive eyebrows. Check 'em out! 

These two are an endless amount of entertainment...

 

It was super funny to watch, because Sergeant kept wanting to continue to play with Neo and his Bandana, but Neo was just too tuckered out! 

See what I mean?

His Bandana ended up coming off of him at one point. Someone looks guilty! haha

Eventually Sergeant got tuckered out after a couple hours of doing this back and fourth. I enjoyed capturing it all with photos and videos. 

I hope you guys were entertained- seeing how humorous these two can be together,
~Shaunte'