It was like being a fairy godmother

Or perhaps, a fairy dogmother…

In October, I launched the Dalmatian Rescue of Puget Sound web site, where I listed Dalmatians in need of new homes. On Halloween, I sent an e-mail to 3 people, telling them that I was going to form a Dalmatian rescue group. Within 10 minutes, I had 2 replies, with referrals to dogs in need. The first was a Dal that I knew was already being helped by Beth White of Dalmatian Rescue of Colorado. The other was a 15 year old female from Yakima. Animal control had taken her from a situation where they felt she was being neglected to the point of starvation, but if they put her in the local shelter, she would be put down, because of her age. They took her to the Barks R Us rescue group, but they didn’t have a foster home available. They sent an urgent e-mail out to anyone they thought might help, including one of the 3 people I e-mailed. Within an hour, I was on the phone making plans to meet someone from the rescue group in Bellevue the next morning.

I knew that she had been neglected, but I was still shocked by how thin poor Pepper was when I picked her up. Despite looking like a skeleton in a fur coat, and having a very bad case of diarrhea, she seemed in good spirits. When I asked if she get along with other dogs, I was told that she had been living with Dobermans. It was thought that they were depriving her of food. She got to our house, took one look at my dogs, and decided she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She snapped and snarled at everyone. It made for a very interesting couple of weeks.

Pepper set up housekeeping in our laundry room, with Boudreaux the cat for a roommate. They got along quite nicely, but she wasn’t content in the laundry room. She longed for human company. I spent as much time with her as I could, but with 4 other needy dogs in the house, it was difficult to do much except feed, walk, and fuss over dogs. Somehow in my “spare” time, I managed to get in contact with the Puget Sound Dalmatian Club. They were very supportive, and shared our web site with the membership. That is how our sweet princess, Pepper, found her new home with a wonderful couple in Auburn who promise to spoil her for the rest of her life.

This is what Pepper looked like on the day she arrived:

This is Pepper 2 weeks later, fresh from her bath and ready to go to her new home:

This is Princess Pepper in the chariot, ready to go to her new home:

It was a lot of fun having a princess in the house again, but it was obvious that my house full of rowdy males was not the right home for her, even though the laundry room is Dalmatian themed! I’m so happy that I could be part of her “happily ever after”. Rescue is challenging, but the happy endings make it very worthwhile.

Winter Dog Walking Gear

If you haven’t done so already, it is time to get out your winter weather gear so you and your best friend can remain active during the coming months. Fortunately, life in western Washington doesn’t require a lot of cold weather gear, but good rain gear is worth every penny we pay for it.

Last fall while visiting Florida with my family, I saw the cutest pink Jacket at the Norwegian pavilion at Epcot. It seemed frivolous to spend $120 on a pink jacket, especially when it was 85 and sunny out, but after looking at it for a few days, I bought it. As much as I admired the look, the fit and the very practical design, I failed to notice the tag. It was a Helly Hansen “Seattle Packable Jacket”. After spending a winter walking a sick old dog in it, I can assure you, there is nothing frivolous about this jacket. It’s design keeps the rain and wind out, and the body heat in. The hood fits snugly, and doesn’t blow off in the wind. The velcro wrist bands keep wind and rain from blowing up the sleeves. Best of all, the generous pockets hold plenty of plastic bags! This season, I’m thinking of getting a second one in white, for night time walking. The jacket comes in men’s and women’s styles, and is available in several colors. There is also a Vancouver jacket, which offers a little more padding. I wore my Seattle jacket to run in the snow last fall, and it was plenty warm.

After coming home with my pink jacket, I decided to accessorize with a pair of Nike Zoom Triax running shoes. Yes, I bought them because they were black with Pink detailing, but like my Helly Hansen jacket, they were anything but frivolous. Made of Goretex, with a slightly thicker sole, they offered improved traction on wet surfaces, and resisted moisture. In other words, you can walk your dog through wet grass and your feet will stay dry. I was so happy with these shoes, I bought a second pair when they went on clearance. You can still get them at Road Runner Sports, in limited sizes. This year’s model is black and light blue, and would look very nice with the aqua jacket if you want to look put together while walking your dog in winter weather! http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NIK1299/ Goretex shoes do a lot to help keep your feet dry during the winter season, but if you walk through puddles deep enough to overflow the shoes, they will hold the water in just as well as they keep the water out. Avoid the puddles!

We adopted Friday from rural Idaho last summer, and discovered that he didn’t like to get wet. We had a pretty dry summer, so he didn’t have to adapt to coastal life, but that is over. Last weekend we stepped out the door for our walk, and into a downpour. He looked so pathetic, we skipped the walk and jumped into the car. We drove to Bridge’s Pets and Gifts, one of our favorite places to spend money. We bought him an ezydog (http://ezydog.com) rain jacket. It kept the elements off his back, but couldn’t keep the mud and rain from splashing up underneath him. It wasn’t perfect, but much better than going without! Thursday night we went out walking just before the storm hit. By the time we got home, sustained winds in the 30s, with much higher gusts were driving the rain into us, but our coats repelled it all. Our bottoms were wet, but our tops were toasty!