Toni Bonney writes:
Today I picked Max up in Green Lake Humane Society, then drove him to Mineral Point, where we met his new foster Mom, Linda Shepard.
This is his second chance, as Green lake was not able to deal with an adoption for him. He is darling, sweet, loving and I am so happy the intakes group decided to give him this chance.
Max on his trip from green lake to Mineral Point to meet his new Mom, Linda
Max was born in May 01 and appears to have been a beloved companion, well-groomed, medical care and very sweet, etc. His owner died a few weeks ago and Max was shuttled around, ending up with an elderly lady, neighbor of the owner's son.
The rest of the story is confusing because the woman who took Max told every person a different story about what happened in that one week. Clearly Max made a mistake and animal control was called.
Max & Foster Mom Linda Shepard
Because she did not have $100 to have Max put down (according to the animal control report), Green Lake Area Animal Shelter was called. Because of his mistake (he bit her when she tried to get him out of a bag of dog food, according to one of her stories), Green Lake (after temperament testing him) called CRUSA. Green Lake does not have any foster homes available and with his one-week history, he needed to be in foster and tested before adoption.
New home, new dogs & cats, new family, new people, then more new people, new pool, etc., etc. This seems like a tall order for this new foster dog, Max. All in the first day that he is in Cedar Rapids.
But I am very proud of how he behaved with everyone, including the dinner guests and when he got locked in the closet.
Max tastes the air while Fia watches
On 27 July, Linda Shepard writes:
There is not a mean, aggressive, nasty bone in this little guy's body!
He gets along with his new roommate, Fia the Cairn, the cats, the neighbors, the kids who live behind me and their boxer (Cricket, the boxer, is deaf); he only stops wagging his tail when he is sleeping - a real A+ dog in my book! The neighbor on one side has a Samoyed, and he & Max made friends through the fence.
Feeding has not been a problem in the least. I am following Tonišs advice by giving him a few pieces by hand, then putting his dish down and stepping back. He would eat a little, take a rest, eat a little more, take a rest and then finish. Each time I went to pick up his dish, all he did was wag his tail.
Max has his defined space in the bathroom off the kitchen where his crate & water dish are; I babygated him last night after saying goodnight and didn't hear a peep out of him. He got up for the 3 a.m. potty break (a nightly occurrence!), went outside, did his business, had a quick tour and then went back to his space and went back to sleep.
Fia would like her privacy, please
I fed him first thing this morning but he wanted to go outside before he ate and that was no problem. And Toni, your suggestion of the treat routine is working great. They both sit, take their treats and do just beautifully. And if the dogs could write, they would send you their own email thanking you for introducing me to turkey franks - a HUGE hit!
My evening routine is to sit and read for a bit in the chair in my bedroom - Fia jumped up and found her place in my lap, Max sat down next to me, draped himself over the arm and the three of us read & cuddled for about 30 minutes. Fia is having no problem sharing her space, but I have been making sure to give her lots of love & attention. Max isn't nearly as playful as she is, and isn't much interested in the toys, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for either dog.
His favorite things are;
1. The Backyard! So many things to explore, so many trees and bushes to mark (!), so much grass to lie in and just observe the world!
2. People. All of them.
3. All other living things - in one of the video clips I am sending, there is a cat chase at the end and the dog doing the chasing is NOT Max! Sometimes Fia and Alex (gray cat) do that; other times they are the best of friends.
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