Cooper’s Christmas Vacation: SNOW!

Cooper is a Southern dog. He was picked up as a stray in Nashville, Tennessee and thrown in the slammer. Foster Dad and I busted him out, and he’s been living with us in our home for the past year. Cooper has never left the state, and has certainly never seen snow.

“I dunno ’bout da snow, but I know I like da sunshine!”

All that changed on our Christmas trip to Ohio.  Ohio got hit with a crazy snow storm the day after Christmas, and we could not wait to get the dogs out into the snow to see how they’d like it. Oscar has seen snow before, but not to this extent. This was that miserable nice heavy, wet, big-flake snow that accumulates in inches with a quickness and sticks to every surface it touches.  Miserable to drive through, but beautiful to look at and wicked fun to play in.

Luckily for the boys, Ohioans are used to this sort of weather event and were not impressed. Most people did what any sane normal person would do, and hunkered down inside with a bottle of bourbon. But not us, oh no sir – we had very important business to conduct. We had to introduce a Southern dog to SNOW!

We found a deserted tennis court, and after doing a perimeter check to make sure all the gates were secure, we unclipped leashes and let ‘em at it.

They. Had. A. BLAST!

The boys already think that Foster Dad hung the moon, but after that day their admiration for him reached new heights when he came up with a new Most Fun Game in the World Ever – catching snow balls.

Foster Dad and I haven’t had this much fun watching the dogs play since the Mud Bowl.

The boys could have been out there all day, but remember how I mentioned that the snow was super wet and heavy? Yeaaaaaaah that means it melted as soon as it hit me and Foster Dad, leaving us soaking wet and freezing. So after about 30 minutes we called it a day, but it was plenty enough time to wear the fur-kids out substantially.

That is one tired Oscar-man.

And what’s the best part about getting completely tuckered out in the freezing cold? Snuggling up on a cozy warm hotel bed for a nap.

So in summary, according to the boys…SNOW = FUN!

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, his adoption fee will be waived thanks to a generous donor! Please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Cooper’s Christmas Vacation: Hotel Dog

Foster Dad and I are both originally from the great state of Ohio. Though we don’t make it every year, we love being able to go back up there around the holidays to visit family and friends, and possibly get to see some of that horrible wonderful winter weather that we moved down here to avoid.

This year, for a variety of reasons, we thought it would be easiest for all parties involved if we stayed in a dog-friendly hotel during our trip. And thanks to a friend who works there, we got a great room for only a couple bucks more per night than it would have cost us to board Oscar. Shout out to the Capitol Square Holiday Inn, you guys rock!

It was never in the original plan for us to bring Cooper with us on this trip. Since Coop is a foster dog, Agape Animal Rescue makes arrangements for him whenever we go out-of-town. However, the best laid plans of mice and dog owners…. anyway, there were several things that contributed to our decision to travel with Cooper. First of all, it was the holidays, and of course all the boarding places were pretty booked up. Though they would have pulled it off, it would have been tougher than usual for Agape to find somewhere for Cooper.

Oscar investigates the Christmas decorations in the hotel lobby.

Secondly, Cooper had his tooth pulled just a couple of days before we planned to leave.  He was going to be on a slew of medications and have his food softened while he recovered. We would have felt horrible dumping that situation on someone else, plus, we’re parents! We worry about our fur-kids. So, since we had the hotel room booked anyway, we thought heck – bring him along!

Just like with human kids, they key to keeping travel with pets stress-free less stressful is preparation. We pre-measured out enough food for each meal, packed up all of Cooper’s medications as well as a doggie first aid kit, we even brought strategic cleaning supplies and towels just in case there were any, uh…”accidents.” We made sure each of the boys got brand new toys to keep them occupied in the room.  They each got new stuffies, and Oscar got an antler too.

Unfortunately, Cooper was on a strict “no antler” regimen while his mouth healed, but he didn’t seem to mind. He loved his new stuffed fox so much that he slept with it.

We also made sure to bring some familiar pieces of “home” with us. That meant they got to snuggle up in their own blankets.

Finally, we kept the rules consistent to when we were at home. They eat their meals in separate rooms at home, and thankfully we had a suite so we were able to feed them in different rooms at the hotel as well. At home, they have to sit and wait politely before they are allowed to eat – ditto for the hotel. We allow the pups on the furniture at our house, so we let them have the run of the hotel room too (sorry if that’s not cool, Holiday Inn).

At home, the pups sleep in our bed with us. So, naturally….

…again, sorry Holiday Inn.  They don’t shed! (much)

Oscar has stayed in a hotel with us before, but this was a “first” for Cooper. We honestly had no idea what to prepare for, or how he would act.  Fortunately, overall I’d say we did pretty well. Cooper had a great time with all the new experiences of the week (check back later to see how Cooper did city-walking, and how he feels about snow!) Let’s be honest, as long as he’s with His Pack, Cooper is happy and having a great time. So would we do it again?  Well, hopefully Cooper will be adopted before we get the chance!  

If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Didn’t see that one coming…

It didn’t take long for us to discover that wrapping fake presents for under the tree was a really good idea.

Of course, we thought we knew who to blame…

…until we turned around and the true culprit was revealed!

Who would have thought that Oscar was the one we would have to worry about??

Oscar my love, thank you for keeping us on our toes! Stinker.

Cooper (the innocent one) is still searching for a Furever Home of his very own! If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Cooper-proof Holiday Decorating

Foster Dad and I have never done a ton of holiday decorating, but we do enjoy a live tree and hanging our stockings with care, even though we don’t have a chimney.  Last year, we were a little Scroogey and skipped all of it.  After a year off, I decided come hell or high water destructive foster dogs, I was going to decorate for Christmas, dang it! Especially since Emily at Our Waldo Bungie got me into the holiday spirit way back in October when she invited me to be a part of this year’s Pittie Posse Secret Santa gift exchange! By the way, don’t forget to check back on December 21st for the big reveal!

We’ve already shared our tactics for introducing a live Christmas tree to Cooper. Since this will be his first Christmas at our house, and he has a certain “history,” we weren’t quite sure how he would react to a change in his environment. Since a lot of our holiday decor is sentimental, we wanted to be sure to keep it as safe from Cooper’s vicious chompers as we possibly could. Here’s how we did it…

Fake Presents

I love a tree with presents under it. But after all pounding the pavement and hitting the stores searching high and low for the perfect gifts for our loved ones, there’s no way we were going to leave them to chance under the tree.  Solution: fake presents.

I just took some empty boxes and wrapped ‘em up. This actually solves three problems: 1) Our real presents are stowed safely away until Christmas morning 2) I get to use up some of the wrapping paper I don’t like and 3) you caught me – I’m actually nowhere near done Christmas shopping. I only have two gifts in my possession, which would look pretty pathetic if they were the only things under the tree.

Raising the Bar Roof Decor

Since we are human-munchkin free, and Oscar has never given our Christmas stuff a second thought, we have always had the freedom of placing our holiday decorations wherever we wanted.  Since that’s not the case this year, we looked up – literally. Instead of hanging our stockings on our stocking hooks where we usually do, here:

…we busted out some Command strips and hung them here:

Again, multiple problems being solved here…1) obviously the stockings are out of reach of any curious pups and 2) I still get to use my stocking hooks, and display some of the ornaments that didn’t make it to the tree.

Move it.

I am a creature of habit and I tend to find a “good spot” for things and not move them, ever. This includes holiday decorations – they usually end up in the same place every year.  We have a console that sits under or TV that is usually a great spot for some of our Christmas trinkets, but it also happens to be dog-nose height.

Too tempting for the pooches. I did set our little Christmas tree music box out, but the rest of my little Christmas friends got moved down the hall this year.  This part of the house is closed off from where the dogs spend their days while we’re at work.

These guys resemble stuffies a little too much to hang out with the pooches unattended during the day.

There you have it, just a few simple fixes to keep our holiday decorations pooch-proof, but still make the house feel festive. What do you do to keep your holidays dog-friendly? Have you had to alter any of your traditions?

Cooper is still searching for his Furever Home! If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please visit Agape Animal Rescue and fill out an adoption application.

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Christmas photo outtakes? Well, if you insist…

After we put up our Christmas tree last weekend, I naturally turned to my favorite models and insisted on a photo session. I armed myself with my camera and a bag of frozen peas (a favorite at Foster House) and confidently settled in for the task. Well, I underestimated two things: a) taking a quality picture of a lit Christmas tree in dim light is hard and b) my models are dogs.  

“So boys, here’s what we’re gonna do, I am going to bribe you with frozen peas and you are going to sit and pose nicely in front of this big glowing tree like the sweet little angels you are, while I point and click this black box at you. ‘Kay?”

Cooper: “Ohmigosh-peas-did-you-say-peas-I want-peas-please!”
Oscar: *sigh* “Rookie.”

I actually kinda love this picture!

So close! They were even laying the same way, it would have been C-U-T-E.

What can I say? We keep it real. Perhaps I as a little ambitions attempting both dogs at once…

Our model Cooper is searching for his Furever Home! If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please visit Agape Animal Rescue and fill out an adoption application.

Remember that there are still Operation Broken Chain pups waiting to be placed with rescue groups. If you are a pit bull rescue in the United States or Canada and would like to become a placement partner with Animal Rescue Corps, please e-mail placement@animalrescuecorps.org.

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It’s Christmas-time at Foster House!

Deck the halls and trim the tree, December is here and that means Christmas decorations!

This will be our third Christmas with Oscar as a member of our family.  That dog takes after his Momma, he loves Christmas – especially the “opening presents” part.

Oscar’s First Christmas (2010)

I mentioned last week that we are being a little cautious this year, since this is Cooper’s first (hopefully only!) Christmas season at Foster House. Although he’s been doing amazingly better recently, he does have a bit of a checkered past in the destruction department.

So first, I went through all our Christmas ornaments and pulled out all my favorites and breakables, and set them aside – they’re taking the year off. Thankfully, I have a bit of what I like to call an “after Christmas shopping problem,” which means I hit up Pier 1 and World Market on December 26th like it’s my job and snatch up all their adorable ornaments for a steal.  This means I have plenty to choose from. 

Then we hit up a local Christmas tree lot and scavenged some scrap tree trimmings.  Foster Dad fashioned them into a little make-shift wreath (just for fun) and we brought it into the house and left it on the floor for a few days, where we would eventually put the tree.  We wanted to see how Cooper would react to “nature” inside the house.  Would he chew on it? Pee on it? Attack it? Who knows.

Thankfully, he did none of the above – he gave it a little sniff, decided it wasn’t worth his time and didn’t give it a second thought.  So the next step was bringing in the tree.  We got a lovely tree this year through a fundraiser that donated all their proceeds from tree sales to single moms in the Nashville area to help them buy Christmas presents for their kids.  Much better than “donating” my hard-earned cash to the nearest big box hardware store with trees out front, amIright?

So, a little wreath was one thing, but a big ol’ tree right in the middle of the living room – what would Cooper make of this?

Not a thing – didn’t phase him a bit!  After he didn’t react at all to Frasier (the Fraser, of course) invading his space, we commenced with the decking of the halls.

Oscar approves, and Cooper couldn’t care less. I’ll take it! Now, to hang our stockings with care someplace they won’t be bothered…

Hmm, we’re probably going to have to get a “foster stocking,” huh?

Do you deck the halls at your house? How do you and your pups get ready for the holidays?

Cooper is still searching for his Furever Home! If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Brotherly Love

After a bit of a downer yesterday, I thought I’d use today to spread some love…and a little chuckle.

Oscar has never been totally stoked about us bringing strange dogs into the house. He’s not much one for “sharing”….he hates sharing his toys, he bogarts the best spot on the couch, and he makes sure Cooper knows that he is the only canine allowed under the covers. Well, Cooper’s been with us for quite awhile now…maybe Cooper is growing on him, or perhaps Coop just wore him down. Either way, Oscar seems to have taken to the Cooper-monster.

…or maybe Oscar has just finally found an object of his obsessive licking who won’t object.

Cooper is still looking for his furever home! If you’d like to add Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that everyone out there has a safe, happy Thanksgiving today, filled with lots of yummy treats and tummy rubs. Here at Foster House, we’ll be giving thanks for these wonderful folks…

…and of course, there’s these two:

Happy Thanksgiving from Dave, Laura, Oscar & Cooper!

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Guest Post: If Only I Could Speak Dog

 Well folks, after a year of fostering and blogging, we finally get to hear from Foster Dad! I don’t know about you, but I think it was worth the wait. Enjoy! ~Laura

Dear Oscar,

If only I could speak dog, I would wax idiotic to you all day long.  I would tell you just how important you are to me.  I would remind you of the times that you made me laugh.  If only I could speak dog, I would ask if you knew…

…that no matter how tired I am, every time you paw at the covers so that you can lay under them with your back completely stretched along my legs; I smile? 

…that by making room for me to sit next to you on the top step, then leaning on me once I do, I know why you are called man’s best friend?

…that I find the inquisitive nature of your eyes amazing?

…that I’ve never felt more comfortable sleeping uncomfortably; I know you feel the same way when I hear you sighing as you lay your head on my ribs, squished between me and the back of the couch?

…that even though I shouldn’t smoke; I love how you wait with me outside while I do?  I know you’re waiting because you get up and head towards the door as soon as I put out my cigarette.

Do you remember…

…when you first came home from the pound, riddled with a stomach bug, and all you wanted to do was lay on top of, next to, or across the people you had met just an hour ago?

…when Mom and I finally understood what you were trying to say to us when you would move your food from your bowl in front of the window, mouthful by mouthful, across the room to the corner of the carpet before you would eat it?  We moved your bowl there the very next meal.

…when we took you to the lake for the first time, and your water-loving body was submerged and you were free to swim?  I remember that when I picked your front half out of the lake, your paws kept kicking, as if to say “heck, if I can swim in this water stuff, then why not keep going in the air?”

Oscar, I may never be able to tell you how much you mean to me.  So, I can only hope to show you everyday, that it makes me happy to know that no matter how late I’m at work, you would never let anything happen to Mom; that I know how hard you try to please; that you will always and forever be my Friend.  That I’m proud of you, I will Love you Always, and You have changed my life for the better.

Love,
Dad

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Cooper Takes the Parthenon

Here in Nashville, we have our very own Parthenon.  No, really, we do. It’s a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Greece, originally built as a temporary structure for Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition. 

Tennessee Centennial Exposition
Photo Courtesy of the Metro Parks Board

It was so popular with the citizens of Nashville that the city decided to have it rebuilt as permanent building in 1921.  It was completed in 1931 after about 10 years of construction – which is about the same amount of time it took the ancient Greeks to build the Parthenon in Athens.

Located in what is now Centennial Park, the Parthenon is a popular photo backdrop for tourists as well as native Nashvillians.  Oscar visited the Parthenon the weekend we sprung him from the shelter, and  Molly Tamale did some sightseeing as a special outing with Foster Mom & Foster Dad, the morning of the day she went to live with her Furever Family…

And last week, I was telling Cooper all about the Parthenon and he was all, “What the what? Why have you not taken me there yet, woman? I gotta check this out for myself…”

“Momma can we take a closer look? Pleeeeze?”

The intricate carvings above the columns on the East and West ends of the building are scenes depicting a story in the life of Athena. Fun fact, they are covered with netting to deter birds from building nests and dropping little “gifts” on the tourists below.

Cooper thinks it’s super-cool that just like the real deal, no two of the Parthenon’s 46 columns are the same diameter and aren’t evenly spaced apart.  They also all incline slightly inward, which gives the illusion that the Parthenon is even taller than it actual is (which is 65 feet, if you were wondering). 

While dogs are welcome to enjoy the surrounding park and views from the outside, Cooper wasn’t allowed to see the full-scale replica of Athena inside the Parthenon.  He was very disappointed.

Where would you take Cooper sightseeing if he was Yours?  If you’re interested in adding Cooper to your family, please fill out an adoption application with Agape Animal Rescue.

…and don’t forget to VOTE for COOPER!

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