Susannah -- ADOPTED!!!!!

Susannah is an amazingly sweet and incredibly beautiful lab mix. Her amazingly gentle, yet fun nature make her a pleasure to be around. Dogs like her have this unique ability to both calm me after a stressful day and also make me have fun.

Beauty

Susannah is a bit shy at first, but she adores being petted, held, cuddled -- you name it -- she just loves affection. She will stop playing with her toys if a lap is offered. She is great about not jumping up on you or demanding attention, but one look at that sweet face and I just have to pull her into my arms for cuddles. I really can't resist.

Cuddlebug

Susannah is also quite smart and has a nice sit. She walks well on her leash and seems to just want to be with her person. She seems friendly and excited to meet other dogs, although I haven't seen her interact with them to know for sure.

Patience and focus :-)

Susannah has a very gentle nature, and while she is a bit shy at times, she absolutely loves to play with toys and people! When we went in the grassy pen she immediately ran after the first toy we threw! She loved running around with it in her mouth and even bringing it back to us!

Yay toys!!

Susannah is a very athletic dog, who very much wants to please her people. My guess is she'd be a great running partner or the type of dog to play frisbee at the park with. She is so much fun because she clearly loves playing, but also people.

Happy and curious!

Although she's a bit on the big side for a lap dog, that doesn't stop her at all. Like I mentioned previously, she just loves any and all affection offered.

Loving her toys!

One of the other things I love about her is how patient she is. We had to wait a little bit when we first got to the grassy pen because there was another dog playing in it and she was just fine waiting her turn. 

Anticipation!

She was definitely interested in the other dog and the toys that were being thrown around, but she waited both patiently and quietly (!) for the other dog to run off some of its energy before we went it.

Action shot!

Susannah will be a very very awesome companion for a very luck person/people. She is pure sweetness!!

Cutie

If you would like to meet her, her home is Kennel 30 at APS. She would love to cuddle up to you on a visit!!!

One more action shot!

Riche -- GBNF

Riche is an energetic young (~6 mos) shepherd mix who is very very excited, quite intelligent, and lots of fun. I first met Richie several weeks ago and took him for a nice walk and had a great time with him. While he has grown a bit since then, his energy level is still the same -- he is very very excited, especially in his kennel.

So sweet and handsome!

For a dog as bouncy and energetic as he is, he does amazing well on the leash. I was shocked, honestly, because usually the ones who are that excited in their kennel tend to go all over the place on walks, but he didn't pull me at all!

Happy face!!

In fact, he not only stayed with me, but would also look to his side at me for direction. He wanted to follow whatever I was doing and go wherever I wanted, regardless of which direction he thought the best smell were!

Pensive

Richie is an exceptionally smart dog. He already knows "sit" and "come" which he exhibits very nicely with either treats or toys -- although hot dogs will do it every time with him! What we worked on today was "wait". This is a command that I love working with with the younger dogs because often they learn a command and then go straight for my hand which is holding the hot dog after they've done it and I've approved.

A very nice sit -- so smart!!

Today I would tell Richie to "sit" and once I praised him for that I would hold up my pointer finger with the hot dog hand -- pretty close to his nose/mouth and tell him to wait for it. He understood and gave me the behaviour in three (3!!!) tries. Incredible.

Run Richie, run!!

The best thing though actually was after we played in the grassy pen for 10 minutes or so, I sat down on a bench and did the routine again. He had plenty of time to forget and we were in a different place and he "waited" the first time I asked. So incredibly brilliant and easy to train! (I wish my three were that good at recall!!!)

Loving his duck toy!!

Richie had a lot of fun with his toys in the grassy pen. He absolutely loved running around with the soft toys in his mouth. See the video below for proof of this happiness!

While he doesn't know any retrieving or fetch commands, his happiness of just running around and playing with the toys makes me have fun.

All-star athlete

He is also a very affectionate dog who LOVES having his ears scratched. When I sat down on the bench he immediately came over to me to crawl on my lap and give my neck kisses as I scratched him.

If you would like to meet Richie, he's in Kennel 37 at APS and he would love to walk with you and play in the grassy pen.

Polo -- ADOPTED!!!!!

So let me start by saying, if Ryan and I didn't have three dogs and a cat already, we may have just adopted this awesome guy. He is everything I could imagine wanting in a dog, so it'll be hard to keep this brief. So let me just hit some of the highlights.

Stunning.

Polo is a young (5ish months) Doberman (mix?) who is a perfect mix of incredibly affectionate and sweet, fun-loving and playful, well-behaved and well-mannered, easily trainable, cute and gorgeous, eager and happy and well....I could go on for a while....

Such a cuddler.

Firstly, he is a cuddler. He loves laps and loves being petted and he loves giving gentle kisses of appreciation to let you know how much he loves these things. He is very good about not jumping on you until you invite him though, which is pretty amazing for a dog as young as he is.

Yea, that's a happy face!

His good manners carry through to all the other areas though. He's already learned sit, and even though he sometimes doesn't completely eat the hot dogs he's given, he will sit for you none-the-less. He also started to learn "drop it" in only a few times of saying it. Basically, he's brilliant.

His awesome "sit".

He walks nicely on the leash, and when he gets to the point where he may pull, he stops and allows the slack to get back in the leash. Although he's still a puppy right now and a bit awkward with his long legs, he will most likely be super athletic and a good walker and runner.

Loving fetch with his soft toy!

Once we got in the grassy pen he hopped around a bit, but came running over as soon as we showed him the soft toy. You see, he LOVES soft toys. He's not obsessive with them though, which is nice, but he clearly loves a good game of chase. He actually "fetches" really well. He knows that bringing the toy back will result in more chasing -- like I said before, brilliant.

Weeeeeee!!!

Once he brought his toys back we started to teach him "drop it", which he started learning nicely. He has an incredibly soft mouth and a very very gentle nature, which is one of the reasons I love him so much. That, and the soft, happy eyes and little Doby grin -- melts my heart instantly!

You melt my heart.

Polo is really good around other dogs and is very polite and playful. I think he would be great either as an only dog or with doggie playmates as he really loves to play.

Great focus, so much fun!

He is definitely one of the sweetest, happiest and all around awesome dogs I've met and I think he will make a very lucky person very very happy!

Come meet me!!!

If you'd like to meet him, he's in Kennel 32.

Shirley -- ADOPTED!!!!

Shirley is a big Beagle love-bug. She is a few years old and has never met a lap she didn't want to cuddle up in. She lives to be petted, scratched, and cuddled and she will give every ounce of affection you give to her back to you. She loves giving little kisses and "hugs".

Kisses and lovin from Shirley :-)

Shirley enjoys walks a lot. She isn't particularly fast as her hound dog nose keeps her busy a lot of the time. She obliged me with a bit of a jog, and did pretty well, but mostly she just likes a nice, leisurely pace intermixed with affection! She is easy to walk on her leash and doesn't pull, although she definitely takes her time.

Such a sweet little beagle face!

Shirley has nice manners with other dogs, although she isn't super excited about playing with them. She is very very social with people and will happily greet anyone who wants to pet her. She's just a big sweetheart.

Doing what she does best!

Shirley also most definitely likes her hot-dog treats and will be really nice to train as she is very calm and very gentle. Because she likes people so much, my guess is that food and approval combined would be the best way to train her, although in many ways she's already quite nicely trained.

Loves having her chest scratched!

Shirley is what I would consider a great companion dog. She really never wants to leave people's side. She loves to be held and doesn't have a lot of interest in being with other dogs.

She was recently at an adoption event at Petsmart and did absolutely fantastic with everyone there, including children. She was also very nice with some of the more "puppyish" dogs who tried to get her to play with them.

Love her big floppy ears!

Also, she has perfect beagle ears (and doesn't mind me picking them up!). So sweet :-)

If you'd like to visit this sweet Beagle, she would love to cuddle on your lap. She is in Kennel 46.

Mckenzie -- ADOPTED

Mckenzie, or "Kenzi" as I've taken to calling her, is just one of those dogs who can make you feel like the most special person in the room, or yard, or wherever. She instantly warmed up to me, even though I've never had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with her, she pretty much acted like my best friend. I love dogs like this.

One look at those sweet, adoring eyes.....

When I went into her crate to put her leash on she got down on her belly and crawled over to me tail wagging. She was so grateful for the chance to be with someone and to go out for a walk...like I said, she really knows how to make her human feel special.

Loving on Ryan.

We went outside and as soon as I made a move to crouch down and pet her she lay down and then rolled over for a belly rub! She LOVES being petted -- on her stomach, on her back, on her side, anywhere -- she just relishes the attention and love.

Pure bliss. And just because of simple pets on the back.

Kenzie does well on her leash, and since she loves to be around people so much, she will be quite fun and easy to walk with. She was very polite and didn't jump on me when I put her leash on or when waiting at any of the dogs. She is quite patient, which I also love.

Beautiful, happy girl!!!

We went outside to the grassy pen and she showed off her version of "fetch" which goes something like this.

1) Watch toy in person's hand until they throw it.
2) Run after said toy.
3) Pick it up and start running back to human.
4) Midway through return, get so excited about running back to open-armed human for possible affection. Drop toy and keep running full speed toward awaiting hands.

This is her dropping her toy halfway back to get back to me!

This happened every time we threw her toys and it was just so incredibly adorable that I didn't ever want her to learn "real fetch". I hope she always does this! She definitely likes her toys and love chasing and playing.

Love <3

One of her other awesome talents is how well she is coming along with her obedience. She had a very very nice sit, which she will give for both food treats, but also if she wants you to throw her toy! She is also learning "down" very quickly, as it is easy to get her in this position for a rub. Based on this I think she will be not only easy, but incredibly fun to train. She makes it feel both easy and fun.

So sweet!

Kenzie is definitely the dog that you could take anywhere with you and have people love. She makes me feel so loved and appreciated and she would gladly do that with her new family. I have never seen her around children, but would think she would be a great family dog.

If you would like Mckenzie to make you feel like the coolest person ever, she'd love to get the chance! She lives in Kennel 36.

Bosco -- ADOPTED!!!!

This is sweet Bosco. The first thing I'm going to have to say about him is he doesn't know that he isn't a 5-10 lbs dog. He LOVES laps. He will readily jump up on the bench next to you and cuddle up in your lap. You see, he happens to be a big cuddle bug. And he is just awesome at it.

The "little" lap dog :-)

Bosco is a Lab/Hound mix who is probably a bit under a year old. From his pictures you can see that a bit of his gorgeous black fur is missing from his face. He has recently developed a very treatable, non-infectious type of mange called demodectic mange. He is currently being treated at the shelter and should have his face hair back soon.

Happy face!!!

None of this, however, prohibits him from being the most loving little sweetheart one could hope for. He loves giving kisses and getting affection, but he also loves playing! Although he doesn't seem super interested in chasing toys when they are thrown, he does love running around. I got the good fortune of getting to play/watch him play in the grassy pen and recorded it. He's hilarious!!!

Bosco does nicely on his leash and seems to do well with other dogs. Although he doesn't want to play with them at all times, he is very very gracious about letting them play with him. He has very good canine manners, but he definitely prefers a human by his side.

Kisses for Ryan!

He also is very good at his "sit". He does it immediately when asked and is very patient about waiting for you to give him his treat.

A very good sit.

Bosco is honestly one the most loving and enthusiastic-to-be-with-you dogs I've met. He's definitely that dog that will be waiting with a smile and kisses at the front door for you to get home.

Wins the "most loving" award!

Bosco is looking for his best friend, so if you would like to meet him, he is in Kennel 7.

Clay --ADOPTED!!!!!!

Clay is an energetic, bouncy, Boxer/Lab mix who is around a year old. He has an adorably curly tongue, and big brown eyes that will just melt your heart.

That tongue is the cutest!!

When I first went to his kennel to get his leash and harness on, he was very very excited to see me --- you see, he absolutely adores his humans. He settled down a bit once he was on his leash and walking around. A few weeks ago he was a pretty big puller, but he has come a long way since then and now walks nicely and is continuing to improve! This sort of progress means that he will probably be quite trainable.

Cute wrinkles.

One of Clay's absolute favourite things is affection. Although he is excited about toys and treats, he seems to just relish having his head scratched and he is exceptionally generous with his kisses. Anytime I would sit down and invite him over he got so happy and would squeeze himself next to me in any way he could so he could get pets.

Ryan and Clay: Best Buds.

Clay and I tried running on a leash together and he also seems to love it! Although he didn't pick one side of me to stay on, he didn't pull me much either and my guess is he would be a great running, walking, or hiking partner.

Just can't get enough lovin'!!!!

When we got to the grassy pen, Clay got very excited about getting to run free and play with his toys. He likes his tennis balls, and is very nice about letting humans take any of his toys if they want to throw them or end play time.

Doing well with "come"! Such a smart boy.

Although he loves playing, it doesn't take very long (especially in the heat!) to get him all tuckered out. Once he's tired, its back to wanting affection and a nice long drink of water.

Toy + shade = good combo on a hot day!

Another great thing about Clay is that in addition to being affection-motivated, he is also food-motivated! He has a fantastic sit, which he does without being asked, when food is present. He also knows "sit" even without the hotdogs, as I asked him to do this before we left his crate.

A very good sit!

 He seems like he's the perfect combination between being food-motivated and praise/attention motivated. I really like when a dog has both motivations because I don't always have a bag of hotdogs on me, and I like knowing that they value both food and positive attention.

Those eyes and that grin!! What a heartthrob. 

Ok, just one more picture cause this guy is such a cutie with his toy hanging out of his mouth!

Who else could hold a toy while grinning like that?

If you would like to meet this happy, affectionate, awesome guy he would love to show you how great he is!