Thursday, December 19, 2013

New event website!

Hi All!

I've been working on a bit of a side project for TG and it is finally finished! Well - finished enough to show you! Ever the perfectionist, I don't think I will ever truly be 100% satisfied - there will always be something for me to make better, update, or change!

The website is designed to help you keep track of all the fundraising opportunities Turtle Gardens is a part of! That way you'll never miss out on any of the cool stuff we do! :D I am always adding more to the site so keep an eye out for updates!

Also, I want to make sure it is as easy to use as possible for everyone, so please comment here or on the website with any questions, concerns, ideas, or suggestions you may have and I will do my best!

Thank you all and hope everyone is having a very merry christmas! :D

http://turtlegardensevents.wordpress.com/

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Davies/Shadow

Hello everyone!

I know it has been a while since my last post!

My most recent foster pups have been doing well - Casanova, Mattie, and Chuck (now Jack)!

However, one was not doing so well... Davies unfortunately passed away :( I do not know too much about the whole situation but he was struck by a car and passed away :'( I miss him and I am so sad that his life was cut so short... but the one silver lining was that he knew real love. Both with Yvette and Stan up north, and then with Jen when he came to the lower mainland and then with me as his foster until he found his forever home on the island. And then his knew dad loved him too, very much, Davies may not have been there long, but he was definitely loved. His dad texted me the day after the adoption and told me he was changing Davies' name to Shadow.
When I found out I am not ashamed to say I broke into tears and ran to my dad and when he saw my face and heard me sputter out "-Davies-" his face dropped and he asked what happened, and even my dad who has been a rock for me for my whole life teared up when he heard that happy bouncy Davies wasn't with us anymore.  I sat down with Casanova and just said "Casa... it's times like these I am happy you can't understand english..." and he just let me snuggle with him and cry it out, hopefully with no idea that his best buddy had passed. When these kinds of things happen it is very sad :'( But at least Davies is waiting at the rainbow bridge for the day he can walk across with his dad - with his muzzle scar gone and all happy and bouncy as he was.

RIP Davies
You will always be alive and well in our memories!


Friday, October 18, 2013

Adopted!

That's right! Casanova has been adopted!

He is now a happy clam at home with his new dad! From what I hear he has been a good boy and has already been on many adventures such as car rides, his Dad's work, the dog park, and long walks!

I am very happy for Casa-Pants! He is such a deserving dog and I am so happy to see him find the home he has been waiting for :)
Thank you to Yvette, Stan, and everyone who made Casanova's journey to his forever home possible!

Be a good boy in your new home Casa! I'll miss you!!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Where is Casanova's family?

Casanova is still a foster pup, just looking for his forever home!

We have heard there have been some issues with the email servers for a couple weeks, so if you sent in an application for Casanova (or any dog) and have not heard a reply, please send a quick follow up email to just check that it has been received, it should all be working fine now!

If you haven't yet sent in an application for Casanova and you have a kitty/kid free home, and are looking for a super affectionate, goofy best-friend, Casa would love to meet you! So please send in an application using the link in the sidebar!

Casanova and I had some fun this past week and a half! He played with my boyfriends dogs and had a blast! He's also been going to doggie daycare twice a week and he LOVES it!
We've been working on his obedience, and his sit is getting better (though sometimes he still decides standing and staring at you adoringly is about the same thing - right?;P), he has now started to shake a paw! That trick was slow going because we have all hardwood so he slips around sometimes and doesn't want to lift his paw, and blankets don't help as they slide too - but he's getting it now and is starting to offer up the behaviour! "out" and "off" are necessities as he's a puppy and he is doing very well! He is still jumping up when excited, but the behaviour is lessening, especially when you learn his signals and can nip it in the bud before he even starts! He can get a bit whiny from time to time, and can whine the first bit when left alone, but does quiet down after a couple minutes.

Casanova has been a good boy and so far hasn't touched stuff he isn't supposed to. He only plays with his toys and chews in the house. That is not to say he will never touch something he isn't supposed to - he's still very young (a puppy to many!) so he will need a couple reminders, and help learning - as any young (and sometimes even old) dogs do! But he has good foundations to start with and he is a smart boy!

Casanova is a lovely dog and I hope we find his home soon because this sweet guy deserves it! :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Casanova is still looking for his forever home!




Yikes! I hadn't realized it had been so long since my last post about Casanova and Davies! I guess time flies when you're having fun!

Well as you may have noticed, Davies has been adopted! He is now living in Victoria and being a good boy :) Can't wait for an update!

Casanova was quite sad when Davies left. We drove to a park near the ferry to do a meet and greet and adoption (if all went well - and it did!), and then we left without Davies. Once we got home he booked it to the backyard! I assume he figured Davies MUST be in there, so in we went, and he looked everywhere and.... nothing :( Then he proceeded to whine at the gates. Finally he came up to the porch and laid down just outside the door and stared at the gate. I felt bad for him missing his buddy, but knew he would soon stop being sad and move on - which he did by the next day.

So we spent some time together just me and him and he definitely seems to enjoy one-on-one time :)
He's been a very good boy! And it turns out Davies was the reason I got up so early everyday (he's an early riser), because Casanova lets me sleep in ;)



His sit is getting more consistent and we're working on a couple other tricks too. He is learning to fetch and loves lying down with an antler while we watch TV.

We have a nice little routine going and I can see that once a routine is in place he is a happy camper because he knows what to do and what's expected of him.

His jumping has improved too!

We went to the adoption event and had a blast! Casanova was a good boy and was TG's own booth greeter! He was happy to meet any child, adult or furry friend that came our way! He is such a sweetheart!

There was a blog post about it and you can view that HERE!

So Casanova is still looking for his forever home! Everyone who meets him loves him and wishes to take him home!

What Casa is looking for is:
-Someone who can give him 1-2hours of exercise a day
-Someone who will take him to obedience class so they can learn to work together to help him be the best dog he can be!
-A home with no cats or small children living there (he is fine with meeting small kids and is very gentle, but needs to be monitored as simply due to his sheer size he may accidentally bump or knock over a small child without meaning too)
-A home with either another dog buddy or is able to give him lots of socialization through Daycare, Dog Parks, or dog friends!
-And most of all Casanova is looking for Someone to love!

If you think that Someone is You, please click the link in the sidebar and send in an application!


Will post more soon!

Monday, August 26, 2013

The Island



I mentioned a while back that I was away and that I was headed to Vancouver Island - Well I wanted to share some of my adventures with you all!



We always bring Rikki along because she loves it! Lots of dogs, people, and quality time with her humans! First we had to get there!


So we packed up the car and off we went! Rikki loves car rides!

But she wasn't a huge fan of how much stuff we brought!


She really liked the ferry too and loved feeling the cooling wind through her ears!

Once on the island she help us set up tents!
Okay so maybe "help" is an overstatement...

The rest of the time her days consisted of.....

Waking up in the morning to play fetch!

 

Napping

Watching the Sunset

And being cute!

She also went swimming for the first time! It was the weirdest thing, we've been trying for two years to get her to swim to no avail. Then suddenly this year I just tossed the toy out and she started swimming! We were SO EXCITED! Now we can take her to beaches on the mainland more often now that we know she'll actually swim! Here is the video we took of her first swim! (unfortunately I never got a video of her swimming after that - all off leash- as my phone stopped working for some reason) But hope you enjoy watching her first swim! :) 



We also saw the RCMP Musical Ride, and it was really neat! Having ridden for 6 years I know how hard it can be to even do a small portion of show never mind the whole thing! And a few horses were being a little hot-headed during the show which was pretty funny - it really shows that these horses are not "push-button" guys and that it takes lots of work to keep them under control and listening during the performance when they have to get SO CLOSE to the other horses etc. 





The reason we go to the Island every year is for our family Reunion! Family comes from all over to congregate at the "Family Farm" to camp, eat, swim, talk and just enjoy being a family! I've been there every year since I was born - I haven't missed a single one! And I love that kind of tradition! Theres usually up to 100 people and 20 or so dogs, and everyone has a blast! 

Here are some pictures of the Farm! It is right on the water and we often fish and crab-trab, and our Uncle even takes us out on his boat to some of the smaller islands!








And last but not least one of my favorite parts about the island this year....

I got to see Izzy and her family! :D

You may remember my foster pup Chika (Now Izzy), who ended up having her hips not develop the way they should have and she had hip dysplasia and needed surgery! Well we helped raise enough money for one hip, and it's looking so good the vets think it's possible she may not need the other hip done! 
I was so happy to meet Troy, Sarah, Lily and dear Izzy again! It is so great to see her running around and playing with the other dogs not a worry in the world :) Here are some photos from that day! Look how big she is! :D








And I brought along a special treat for Rikki and Izzy to share! Bowser Beer! :D



Well that was my trip to the island! I had some great adventures, and Rikki did too! And I can't wait till next year! :D





Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Dog days


Well summer is slowly on its way out and it's no longer the blistering heat we've been having a bit of, but instead just the "regular" summer heat, it's not too hot inside for the pups but they like to be outside hanging out :) 

These dogs are both such loves! They both think they are 20lb lap dogs - LOL! 
And Casa LOVES having his face smooshed and petted and will happily sit there for hours gazing up at you lovingly while he just soaks up the attention!
And Davies, not to be outdone, loves scratches behind the ears and between the shoulder blades, where its harder to scratch through his thick fur. And of course they both love bum scratches :) 

They've been loving antlers and they are both great at sharing! Even if they both want the same one, they take turns! 
Same thing when they're playing they take turns being the chaser and chasee! 

They've been good boys and are eagerly awaiting homes of their own! 






Casa Also has a funny quirk where he Howls when he hears sirens! It's adorable! He is very easy to stop otherwise I might not find it so darn cute! But here have a listen for yourself! :)






Thursday, August 15, 2013

I'm Back! (And new fosters!)


Well I don't even know where to begin with my blog posts! I have so much to fill everyone in on! The trip to the island, my new craft projects, and of course my new foster dogs are just a few!! 


Of course I think ill start with the most important - My Foster Pups! 
That's right - plural! I have two lovely buddies with me :) 

Casanova and Davies! 
They were both with the prison program for 2 months where they received awesome training and socialization! They are both awesome dogs! And they are definitely good buddies and get along extremely well so I am super excited to have two TG doggies here! Love to help as many as I can! 

Now onto the dogs...

Davies is a 1.5yo karelian bear dog x border collie and it shows! In looks and smarts! He is a sensitive dog but very smart so he catches on to what he is asking very quickly so it's not often he needs to be asked more than once for something. For example he is very food motivated, and when he and Casanova are having a meal he finished much faster. But Casanova is more concerned about what I'm doing than the food so will walk away from his bowl to come see me. So of course Davies tries to sneak a bite of Casanova's food - and from across the room I just said "Ah, Ah!" And Davies stopped, looked at me, and them went back to his own bowl. From across the room a food motivated dog can be told not to eat the other bowl of food?? If that doesn't show his smarts I don't know what will!! He had a rough start to life so is enjoying a puppyhood he never had! Sometimes he can get a bit excited when I wake up, or come home and may try to jump up, but he mostly jumps, as in not so much on people as just standing on his hind legs like he's hopping/jumping but he doesn't usually put his paws on people but due to the jumping possibility it's probably best he goes to a home without small children. He is a wonderful pup! He does not have separation anxiety but would love to come with you wherever you go! He rides well in the car and walks very well on leash! 

Casanova is a 1yo Rottie cross. Maybe shepherd, maybe lab - we don't know 100% but he is a sweetie all the same! Like his namesake he is a love! :) He is a big puppy who just wants bum scratches and cuddles all day long! He can get a bit excited at times and try to jump up, but is learning that the faster he calms down the faster he gets what he wants... Cuddles! :) But due to the jumping possibility it's probably best he goes to a home without small children. He is a big pup who I don't think realizes he's not a 20lb dog haha - he would love to sit in your lap if you'd let him (though I don't recommend that as he's an 80lb dog!), haha! He rides well in the car except he will sometimes try to put his paws over the window edge or come into the front seat, so a seatbelt would be great for him - because he is not anxious about car rides, he loves them! He just could potentially be distracting if he is not secured. He walks very well on leash! He also has this funny habit of rubbing against bushes! He just loves to rub against them on morning walks hagan as you can see in the picture of him on leash he has bits of the bush along his back haha! 

If you have any questions about the dogs please leave a comment! 

I will post more soon along with pictures! :)