Wesley & Petey

We had two very cute and wily little guys in for their assessments this morning. Meet Wesley and Petey, best buddies in the same family.

Wesley is a two year old (?), fifteen pound, Shih Tzu. He was recently rescued by his current owner. Apparently, Wesley was an absolute mess, found on the streets malnourished and severely matted. Lucky for him, his life is now awesome and includes a loving permanent home. In the Little Roll, Wesley was a free spirit that romped around and had a good time. He became even more excited when he met fellow Shih Tzu, the ever popular, Cooper. The two became quick playmates. Wesley is more than welcome to attend The Fort anytime.

Next up was Petey. He is a five year old, twenty-four pound, American Cocker Spaniel, also recently rescued. Petey was a Veterinarian "practice dog" for three whole years. Let's just say, it didn't sound like a fun experience and he didn't get out much. His life is vastly improved nowadays. Petey joined his roommate Wesley in the Little play area. Unfortunately he was a bit more reserved then Wesley. Petey is an amazingly sweet dog, I'm pretty sure that Mom (Nancy) fell in love with him lol. He did just fine with the others in the pack but didn't interact as much as Wesley did. Petey too is welcome anytime.

Swell job today lads, hope to see you two again soon.

Take it easy this week, we're gonna see sunshine for two days. ;)

-Grant

Tribute to great canine partners

Tacoma City Hall is displaying an art exhibit honoring hero dogs. The exhibit is composed of 22 paintings, pastels, and digital work by Janette Stiles. The exhibit runs throughout October, if you want to stop in and have a look!

Here's a great story about a faithful partner helping a teenage girl to achieve her goals. With her guide dog, Sami Stoner can run cross country again.

Another great partner was found for a hearing-impaired woman. She has been paired with a "hearing dog" that is trained to recognize certain sounds (such as the sounds of a baby crying) and alert her.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill in support of a program to pair veterans with therapy dogs.

This last story is a sad one about the boundless faithfulness of our canine friends. A weimaraner kept watch over his owner's body for three days. There really is no limit to their dedication to their partners.

I'll be seeing you again next week,

-Hope

P.S.-
In response to increased cases of canine distemper in the local raccoon population, the Humane Society had a vaccine clinic today. Please make sure you keep all of your pets up to date! Distemper is a very serious and contagious disease.

Judicious Jessie

This morning, we welcomed another new pup into the Fort Fido pack. Jessie is a ten and a half year old Yellow Lab, and weighs in at 74 pounds. While she has never attended daycare before, but it's definitely not her first day at the rodeo! She has been to the off-leash dog park, where she learned how to speak good "dog." She didn't bust out the moves today (who would expect that from an old gentlewoman?), but we got a great glimpse of her no-nonsense personality.

Jessie was in good company today--ten-year-old Hank and eleven-year-old Luther were both in attendance as well. There have to be some old-folks to make certain that the youngins are brought up right and learn all their manners! Though the younger crowd tend to do the most rip-roaring-around, daycare is great for dogs of any age. Even pups that don't play very much can benefit from the calming influence of being with the pack. Dogs are social animals! It's good for them to get out and meet new people, just like it is good for us humans.

We'll be seeing Jessie again for a few days next week, when we'll get to know her even better.

Be seeing you again soon!

-Hope

Feel free to use the leashes

Some of you may have noticed the pile of slip-leads hanging behind the bench in our lobby. Please feel free to use them, that is what they are there for. I'm surprised we haven't put them out a long time ago. In a hurry, some folks forget to leash up there canine companion... It's usually no big deal but sometimes getting your pooch into The Fort can be tricky without a lead. Especially with a crazy-full lobby and parking lot. So anywho... If you've forgotten your leash or don't want to use yours for any reasonn, we'd truly appreciate it if you came in and grabbed one of ours to use. We need things to go as smoothly and safely as possible! We understand that your dog is exceptionally well trained, doesn't need a leash and is under perfect voice control... However, please, just humor us. ;)

Get a load of these clips from today.

New dog Brodie loves it here. In this clip, he tears it up with the infamous Marco Polo.



More Polo in this one as well as some German Shepherd Love featuring Ziva and Zodiac, those two gotta be a match made in heaven lol.



Two from the Medium Roll. This one is just a cross section of the good times these pups have.



The second clip I've titled "Kissy Face", I think you can see why hahaha. Buddha and Phoebe frequently make us chuckle.



Take care,

-Grant

Jocular Jasmine

Say hello to Jasmine. She is a four month old, twenty-three pound, Black/with white, Labrador Retriever that assessed this morning. Jasmine loved playing in our Medium Roll. With her age, size, temperament and play-style, doggie daycare appears to be the epitome of what she wants and needs right now. It'll give her owner a bit of a break too, always good, as this loveable canine has tons of energy! Pup Jasmine is a perfect fit in our pack, she has many similarities to happy-go-lucky medium roller Emily. She did a first rate job today, go Jasmine, you are welcome back anytime!

Cheers,

-Grant

P.S. Check this clip of Jasmine meeting her first new-dog-friend... The "Bad Boy" Hunter! ;) As you can see, they are both having a darn good time.

Check out these kicks!

Thanks to Pearl's ma, Phylis, for the pic of these puppies... I think Hope and or Nancy should get a pair hahaha!

Our Dog Trainer, Garrett Stevens, is going to be launching a new website soon... Looks like our man Gary will end up being the webmaster, too cool, way to go!

Garrett has sent me some fantastic photos of him and his boxers, I've updated the Training Page on our site with them. We hope to have some new training class and seminar dates up soon. I'm guessing the dates will be after the holidays.

Take it easy today,

-Grant
P.S. O yeah, we scored a nice clip of the Little Rollers doing there thing today. It was a fun group!

Why Kids Need A Pet

Scored another funny-dog-email from my grandmother.

This one is cute, lookout lol.

"Why kids need a pet"

Hope you got some laughs/smiles.

Happy Monday! ;)

-Grant