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Forums » Misc » Hellllllllllooooooooooo Harry!!!
Hi There Lunies!
This is a non-PG thread, so I am appropriately placing it in the "Misc" thread -- not that I consider it to be "miscellaneous" but I wanted to keep the new forum all nice and neatly organized! 
Okay, so, here's the story:
Many of you may know that last December, 2010, I had my wonderful "Dusty, The Heavy-Metal, Radioactive, Remote-Control-Eating Dog" (but I just called her Dustydog or Dusty!) euthanized after she had suffered two seizures within a 24-hour period. Dustydog was nearly 15 years old at the time.
I had shared many of her "Dustydog Tails" (that's the book, a work in progress) here on the forums and some lucky lunies had met and known Dustydog, even if only for a short time. She was definitely one of the better ones (in my unbiased opinion, of course! 
) and when she left, she left a void that is still felt today.
Always having had a dog, I knew that I would again get a dog. Family and friends were hedging bets about the timing -- my niece, Kate's husband thought that I would have a new dog by January, 2011 (Dustydog died on December 23, 2010); my niece, Patrice's husband wanted to buy me a dog for Christmas -- fortunately my sister Anna knew very well that as much as that might seem to be the right thing to do, it was not at all what I wanted to do.
Losing Dustydog was very sad and "replacing" her was not even thinkable for the longest time; in fact, "replacing" her is not my goal. So, for the past 10 months, I've gone back and forth with when I would search for a dog, the type and age of dog that I wanted and when I began looking at shelter dogs on petfinders.com, etc., I often would be overwhelmingly sad because of all of the unwanted/abandoned dogs out there.
A friend of mine from Philly, with whom I used to work Electric Factory Concerts, is a volunteer with an animal shelter that is fairly new -- 2 years old -- but is very well run and helps to places unwanted dogs (some cats, also) into new homes. My friend Chris had suggested that when it came time for me to begin looking, I should check out Finding Shelter (www.findingshelter.org). I did and I have found my new dog there.
There is a huge animal adoption event in King of Prussia, PA on Sunday, october 23, 2011, at which time I will be in attendance and will be bringing home "Harry Pawter" 
-- you can laugh at the name and I wasn't sure if I would keep it or not, but I met him last week and he's a Harry, so I'm keeping his name.
I am so very excited about having a new dog and am looking forward to making him my focus for the upcoming days. Harry's smart and already knows some basic skills; he's housebroken, @ 1 year old, American Eskimo mix (with poodle). He had a sad story to start out with, but he's one happy boy now and I'm hoping to keep him that way.
Anyway, I wanted to share my news of Harry Pawter (or a/k/a HP). Thanks for reading.
Okay, so, here's the story:
Many of you may know that last December, 2010, I had my wonderful "Dusty, The Heavy-Metal, Radioactive, Remote-Control-Eating Dog" (but I just called her Dustydog or Dusty!) euthanized after she had suffered two seizures within a 24-hour period. Dustydog was nearly 15 years old at the time.
I had shared many of her "Dustydog Tails" (that's the book, a work in progress) here on the forums and some lucky lunies had met and known Dustydog, even if only for a short time. She was definitely one of the better ones (in my unbiased opinion, of course! ) and when she left, she left a void that is still felt today.
Always having had a dog, I knew that I would again get a dog. Family and friends were hedging bets about the timing -- my niece, Kate's husband thought that I would have a new dog by January, 2011 (Dustydog died on December 23, 2010); my niece, Patrice's husband wanted to buy me a dog for Christmas -- fortunately my sister Anna knew very well that as much as that might seem to be the right thing to do, it was not at all what I wanted to do.
Losing Dustydog was very sad and "replacing" her was not even thinkable for the longest time; in fact, "replacing" her is not my goal. So, for the past 10 months, I've gone back and forth with when I would search for a dog, the type and age of dog that I wanted and when I began looking at shelter dogs on petfinders.com, etc., I often would be overwhelmingly sad because of all of the unwanted/abandoned dogs out there.
A friend of mine from Philly, with whom I used to work Electric Factory Concerts, is a volunteer with an animal shelter that is fairly new -- 2 years old -- but is very well run and helps to places unwanted dogs (some cats, also) into new homes. My friend Chris had suggested that when it came time for me to begin looking, I should check out Finding Shelter (www.findingshelter.org). I did and I have found my new dog there.
There is a huge animal adoption event in King of Prussia, PA on Sunday, october 23, 2011, at which time I will be in attendance and will be bringing home "Harry Pawter" -- you can laugh at the name and I wasn't sure if I would keep it or not, but I met him last week and he's a Harry, so I'm keeping his name.
I am so very excited about having a new dog and am looking forward to making him my focus for the upcoming days. Harry's smart and already knows some basic skills; he's housebroken, @ 1 year old, American Eskimo mix (with poodle). He had a sad story to start out with, but he's one happy boy now and I'm hoping to keep him that way.
Anyway, I wanted to share my news of Harry Pawter (or a/k/a HP). Thanks for reading. 
YAY!
So very happy for you and HP
I hope he knows how lucky he is to get you as his new mommy
Very good name and cheers to a good partnership, Pat and Harry Pawter!
Thanks all! Well, Harry's home here with me tonight -- we've had a great day and he even made it all the way home in the car without getting car sick (his one little problem ).
Today was a very emotional day for the foster parents -- they are a young couple and she (Jen) has fostered many times before, but never for a long as this (3 mos) and he (Grant) had never fostered before, so Harry was his first. There were a few tears shed as we made the transition. But we're going to keep in touch and I think it'll all work out well.
Harry checked out the house, seems to like his new surroundings, played with a few new toys, ate very well and we did a few short walks around the area. He is currently asleep at my feet and I'm about to go to bed also. He has his own pet bed, but I have a feeling he might end up in my bed tonight -- we'll see.
I will be posting photos of HP on facebook -- I have a few already, but I'll wait until later in the week to spend time doing that.
G'nite all.
).
Today was a very emotional day for the foster parents -- they are a young couple and she (Jen) has fostered many times before, but never for a long as this (3 mos) and he (Grant) had never fostered before, so Harry was his first. There were a few tears shed as we made the transition. But we're going to keep in touch and I think it'll all work out well.
Harry checked out the house, seems to like his new surroundings, played with a few new toys, ate very well and we did a few short walks around the area. He is currently asleep at my feet and I'm about to go to bed also. He has his own pet bed, but I have a feeling he might end up in my bed tonight -- we'll see.
I will be posting photos of HP on facebook -- I have a few already, but I'll wait until later in the week to spend time doing that.
G'nite all.
Hi All,
I haven't been here on the moon, more specifically, here in this section for a very long time. Honestly, I was trying to keep my non-PG posts on a separate section since that was a major complaint of some before and it seems as if the RW staff decided to hear us on it. So, I'm posting my non-PG stuff here in this section whenever I am here and want to share something.
I initially came here several hours ago. I was just going to mention that now that Harry has been with me for 3 months, he is just proving to be so much fun. He's a very smart little guy and he is eager to please. However, in the end, he seems to know that he is "king of the hill" and is very happy in his new home.
I re-read my postings of before and must make one correction here. The woman who rescued Harry is a volunteer with Finding Shelter and she became known to the Amish/Mennonite community a few years ago when she first saw a dog that seemed to be in bad shape. It was not Harry. Instead, the farmer who gave up Harry did call this woman and he had her take away a few dogs that he didn't want on his farm any more. (Harry and a few other pups just didn't make the "cut" of the puppy mill owner (fortunately for Harry and me ). So, that's the correction to the posts above -- all of the rest is true.
When I came on here earlier this evening, I read the thread posted by Zenrider and have addressed it there. Enough said about it all, as far as I'm concerned.
While I was writing my response to Zen on the other thread, I mentioned the shelter, Finding Shelter, several times and suggested she or anyone else go to the site to learn more about them. Coincidentally, I just now learned that "Sprout" (a small, blind Chiuahua who was the inspiration for the shelter) died today, Feb 1st. Just gave me a bit of the willies to think that I was mentioning Finding Shelter at the same time as when Sprout was departing this earth's boundaries. So much more than this . . .
Kind regards to all,
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-philadelphia/in-memory-of-sprout-kelly-herbert
). So, that's the correction to the posts above -- all of the rest is true.
When I came on here earlier this evening, I read the thread posted by Zenrider and have addressed it there. Enough said about it all, as far as I'm concerned.
While I was writing my response to Zen on the other thread, I mentioned the shelter, Finding Shelter, several times and suggested she or anyone else go to the site to learn more about them. Coincidentally, I just now learned that "Sprout" (a small, blind Chiuahua who was the inspiration for the shelter) died today, Feb 1st. Just gave me a bit of the willies to think that I was mentioning Finding Shelter at the same time as when Sprout was departing this earth's boundaries. So much more than this . . .
Kind regards to all,
http://www.examiner.com/animal-welfare-in-philadelphia/in-memory-of-sprout-kelly-herbertFor those of you who don't frequent facebook that much or at all, I'm posting a bit of an update on Harry (no need to read it if you don't find it a "fascinating fact, project or idea" ).
For me, having Harry for the past 3 months has been a most fabulous project (and a brilliant idea for me), so I'm thinking I can discuss this here.
Harry is adjusting quite well to his new life here with me. Granted, he had been in a foster home with two other dogs and 2 humans for a few months, so he already knew how to live "indoors" -- but he still carries with him his basic instincts (and charm ) that helped him to survive for one full year, living outdoors in the hot summer and brutally cold and snowy winter of 2010.
Harry is still learning to play with toys -- that is, learning to "share" his toys so that I can throw them for him and he can fetch them. He's more of a loner when it comes to playing -- he throws his own toys (sometimes I'm just as happy with that) and fetches them and chases them around the house, and lastly, he buries things just about everywhere. Again, a trait/behavior that helped him to survive last year and I'm not sure if he'll ever completely forget that. But, he is making progress and sometimes brings the toys to me and wants me to tug with him on them.
The one fascinating trait that Harry possesses is his sheer absolute trust of everyone human -- regardless of age, shape, size, color (they're all grey to him anyway! ) -- he just loves to meet people -- or it's really the other way around -- Harry just LOVES people to meet HIM! He could probably win an election here in my community -- all of the people that have met him love him and vice versa. When we go out, Harry quickly gets his "business" out of the way so he can spend time socializing (and getting treats!).
We started basic training classes and Harry's very smart -- the classes are more for me to do the exercises than they are for Harry to "learn". The one issue that Harry seems to have is with other large dogs. I have seen him become a completely different animal -- don't even recognize his voice. He is getting better with it and has become friends with some of the large dogs in the community, but during training class, he starts out okay and at some point, for reasons not yet understood by me, he will begin his defensive growl, which quickly escalates into a very defensive barking and showing of the teeth -- towards the other dog, not to me. From what I can tell, it seems to happen when the larger animal gets a bit too close to Harry, me and/or treats. Harry doesn't want to share! We'll continue to work on it.
Harry is quite the camera ham and it doesn't take much for him to pose at any given moment. I already have some really great photos of him and sometimes it makes me a bit sad that I don't have very many photos of Dustydog -- Dustydog was terrified of anything that even resembled a camera -- phones, etc., would send her running away with her tail behind her. I had never figured out why/what happened to do that to her because I have only a few of her as a pup.
So, the past 3 months have been full of fun for me. I've lost weight because of walking Harry several times a day and I'm glad of that. Harry remains very healthy and a good weight (and I'm doing my very best to not give him anything he shouldn't have). He's a powerful chewer -- destroys all of his toys and more recently, I've begun to remove most of his toys from him because of his obsession to not only de-stuff a toy, and remove the squeak,but to also then chew the plastic and swallow pieces -- making Harry an "Airway Obstruction" just waiting to happen -- I shudder to think about that. So, I'm replacing his toys with some stronger ones (hopefully!) and he won't mind I don't think.
Well, it's early morning here and Harry is waiting patiently for me to finish so we can go outside . . . so off we go.
Thanks for reading my personal "fascinating facts, projects and ideas".
).
For me, having Harry for the past 3 months has been a most fabulous project (and a brilliant idea for me), so I'm thinking I can discuss this here.
Harry is adjusting quite well to his new life here with me. Granted, he had been in a foster home with two other dogs and 2 humans for a few months, so he already knew how to live "indoors" -- but he still carries with him his basic instincts (and charm ) that helped him to survive for one full year, living outdoors in the hot summer and brutally cold and snowy winter of 2010.
Harry is still learning to play with toys -- that is, learning to "share" his toys so that I can throw them for him and he can fetch them. He's more of a loner when it comes to playing -- he throws his own toys (sometimes I'm just as happy with that) and fetches them and chases them around the house, and lastly, he buries things just about everywhere. Again, a trait/behavior that helped him to survive last year and I'm not sure if he'll ever completely forget that. But, he is making progress and sometimes brings the toys to me and wants me to tug with him on them.
The one fascinating trait that Harry possesses is his sheer absolute trust of everyone human -- regardless of age, shape, size, color (they're all grey to him anyway! ) -- he just loves to meet people -- or it's really the other way around -- Harry just LOVES people to meet HIM! He could probably win an election here in my community -- all of the people that have met him love him and vice versa. When we go out, Harry quickly gets his "business" out of the way so he can spend time socializing (and getting treats!).
We started basic training classes and Harry's very smart -- the classes are more for me to do the exercises than they are for Harry to "learn". The one issue that Harry seems to have is with other large dogs. I have seen him become a completely different animal -- don't even recognize his voice. He is getting better with it and has become friends with some of the large dogs in the community, but during training class, he starts out okay and at some point, for reasons not yet understood by me, he will begin his defensive growl, which quickly escalates into a very defensive barking and showing of the teeth -- towards the other dog, not to me. From what I can tell, it seems to happen when the larger animal gets a bit too close to Harry, me and/or treats. Harry doesn't want to share! We'll continue to work on it.
Harry is quite the camera ham and it doesn't take much for him to pose at any given moment. I already have some really great photos of him and sometimes it makes me a bit sad that I don't have very many photos of Dustydog -- Dustydog was terrified of anything that even resembled a camera -- phones, etc., would send her running away with her tail behind her. I had never figured out why/what happened to do that to her because I have only a few of her as a pup.
So, the past 3 months have been full of fun for me. I've lost weight because of walking Harry several times a day and I'm glad of that. Harry remains very healthy and a good weight (and I'm doing my very best to not give him anything he shouldn't have). He's a powerful chewer -- destroys all of his toys and more recently, I've begun to remove most of his toys from him because of his obsession to not only de-stuff a toy, and remove the squeak,but to also then chew the plastic and swallow pieces -- making Harry an "Airway Obstruction" just waiting to happen -- I shudder to think about that. So, I'm replacing his toys with some stronger ones (hopefully!) and he won't mind I don't think.
Well, it's early morning here and Harry is waiting patiently for me to finish so we can go outside . . . so off we go.
Thanks for reading my personal "fascinating facts, projects and ideas".
Lovely story, i am sure Harry will have fantastic moments with you Pat!
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