Show us your pets!

[TsPoet]

I think Shiloh is a border collie papillon mix !
which would have been a very difficult feat for one of the two parents

[sgtiger]

This past Saturday, we met a very sweet girl at the local shelter. Her name is Leela and she's a lab mix. We feel very fortunate to have her join our family. Luckily she's very smart and has been training me! Even BIAK, who is more of a cat person, is smitten with her.

[mtbdarby]

Awww SG she's beautiful! Congrats on the new addition - may you have many long years together.

[kermit]

Heres my girl, five years ago. I had to go to Texas for 10 weeks of training with her. She sniffs for explosives at MIA. She's the best.

[Andrea]

Heres my girl, five years ago. I had to go to Texas for 10 weeks of training with her. She sniffs for explosives at MIA. She's the best.

She looks awesome! I have a Mal, too, but she's somewhat of a "rescue" from a working dog breeder who said she didn't pass the puppy temperament tests. I believe it... she doesn't have the "bold" personality that most of them have, though she still does funny Malinois things like jumping over the back of the couch or coffee table instead of walking around it.

[kermit]

Andrea she's beautiful.I have two Jack russells as well. I tell everybody they are teacup malinois. All crackheads. I wish I got my girl as a pup. They are so cute and innocent when they are little.

[tulip]

Here's Shiloh as a puppy right after the fosterer found him at the shelter with a smashed hip (right). He was about 6-7 months old and that hip had been broken for a month or two. He had surgery (FHO for the vet types out there). He's three years old now and he's not slowed down at all. I've had him for two months now!

[sgtiger]

Awww SG she's beautiful! Congrats on the new addition - may you have many long years together.

Thank-you Mtbdarby. BTW every time I see your avatar, it reminds me of DD. She rides her bike in the same position.

[redrhodie]

Aw, Leela is beautiful! I've become a regular visitor to the website of our local shelter, and it makes me happy to no end to see when someone gets adopted!

Kermit, you guys look formidable!

[kermit]

10 weeks on a military base will do that too you. The guy that took that picture is really "old school" serious. I was scared to smile.

[Zen]

This past Saturday, we met a very sweet girl at the local shelter. Her name is Leela and she's a lab mix.

Her ears say she's not sure about things and may take a while to really open up to you. How's she doing so far?
Do you know anything about her past?

[sgtiger]

Her ears say she's not sure about things and may take a while to really open up to you. How's she doing so far?
Do you know anything about her past?

Not much other than she's been moved around a lot before we adopted her. The Oregon Humane Society didn't have a lot of information to give me. They received her from another shelter and was told she was with a foster family for awhile. There's evidence that she's had puppies pretty recently; that may be why she was being fostered.

She's pretty needy right now and wants constant reassurance. Yesterday was the first day that she felt confident enough to go eat on her own. Before that she'd take only two or three nibbles of her food while constantly looking up to make sure we weren't going anywhere. She follows basic commands very well and is fine being handled. She does so-so on leash but that may be due to the excitement of a new environment after shelter life. She's picking things up pretty quickly though and enjoys the walks so much that she shakes her tail so hard that the rest of her rump follows. She doesn't bark at all - just quiet vocalizations low in her throat, but not a growl, when she's very excited - which makes me wonder if at some point someone used a shock collar on her. She puts her paw in my lap and looks at me expectantly. I haven't figured out yet what she wants when she does that but it means something to her because she looks disappointed that I'm not responding. Any ideas?

She tries so hard to get our approval. I think maybe she's afraid we'll send her back or something. I hope that as she learns our ways and we hers that she will have more confidence.

[Zen]

I did notice those teats. Poor thing, she wants so much to be loved. I'm glad she's found her home.

[sgtiger]

STIGER: Congrats on your new girl! And wonderful for adopting! She looks like she'll be a fabulous addition to the home -- does she love children? How old is she?

She loves the kids and the kids love her. I wasn't sure how well DS would take to having a dog around because he's had a few bad experiences when younger that soured his love for dogs. He is now very skittish around dogs until he gets to know them well. Fortunately he took to Leela right away at the shelter and loves to throw her the ball or run around in the back yard with her. I think having a neighbor with three super friendly dogs has helped with that. It was so precious when the second night we had her, he came down to say good night to me and gave her a hug as well. She likes the attention she gets from DD, but I think DD confuses her sometimes. DD being four sends a lot of mixed messages so I'll have to do some work with her.

[Trekhawk]

I love checking this thread!
So many great stories and cute pics.