Adoption Success in 2013

Blossom

Our foster dog Blossom from Whispering Woods Animal Rescue works with our trainer, Lori, while staying at the lodge.

We at Cold Nose Lodge take great joy in helping homeless animals find families. We take in dogs from several local rescue groups and give them a free place to stay. We treat them like our family members until they have a family of their own. Part of that family time includes training.

Our tenth foster of 2013 just walked in the door this afternoon. Kumo looks like a giant chihuahua, although he is listed as a lab mix. He is already having a great time with his new friends. Our other foster dog, Blossom is getting ready to head out for a trial with her potential new family. She has been working on clicker training with our trainer Lori. Kumo will start working with a trainer tomorrow. We will give him the rest of the day to get to know our staff and his new playmates.

Many dogs end up homeless because they were not given a good foundation in life. Proper puppy socialization, basic manners training, and lots of exercise are important components in helping a young puppy grow into a mature adult dog. Training and daycare are important parts of the lodge. These two services can address the needs of young, exuberant dogs, who may not make good family dogs without the training and exercise time.

Unfortunately, up to four million animals are killed in animal shelters in this country each year because they are not adopted. Contrary to what many people think, there aren’t more animals in need than there are families to adopt them. These animals and families just are not meeting. Many people are still getting puppy mill dogs, whether they purchase from a pet store, from a website, or a farm.

I attended the No Kill Conference in Washington, DC last year. A huge emphasis was placed on making the animals in shelters available to the public – post pictures on websites and in social media, use foster homes, have off site adoption events. Most of the dogs that become our foster dogs were in animal shelters at one time. Three of my four dogs are former shelter pups. The fourth was turned over to me by her previous owner after she called the animal hospital where I worked to ask which shelter we recommend. I was going to work with her and help her find a new family. It just turned out that Betty fit with my own family best. I can’t imagine a better dog for my kids or for modeling Halloween costumes for our boutique.

Betty in costume

Betty beagle models costumes for the Cold Nose Lodge boutique.