Mocha's Gotcha Day!

I first spoke with Mocha's new mom in early February but it was difficult to set up a time and place to meet because she was located in Tampa and our schedule was packed full for my upcoming birthday. I was able to get a volunteer to meet me in Lakeland and take her the rest of the way to Tampa to attend the meetup today and Mocha was officially adopted this morning shortly after the meetup started!

 

I am definitely going to miss this sweet girl and her snuggles but know she will be so happy with her new mom and sister Lexi!

An Unplanned Foster: Mocha

We had planned a break from fostering while we were finalizing wedding plans when a post asking for help appeared on the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue Facebook page. They needed help with transport for a 7 year old beagle girl who was in Brevard County shelter as an owner surrender. We decided we could take one more foster before the wedding and I went on my way to pick up Mocha.

She was a little nervous on the way home and when she heard Cali and Chipper barking from the other side of the door when we got to the garage but she warmed up once she got inside and had an opportunity to sniff around. We showed her the back yard where she took an accidental dip in the pool but eventually got used to going out in the yard.

Mocha was a little overweight and we eventually learned why! She LOVED food and LOVED to snuggle. Definitely a beagle!

She loved snuggling so much that some days it was a struggle to get her to go outside to potty because she was content in the bed or on the couch.

Molly's Gotcha Day!

Molly was adopted at the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue adoption event today by a sweet older couple who had recently lost their beagle sue to health issues. We are so happy for Molly girl and her family and wish them the best!

Molly and foster brother Chipper on their way to the event!

Molly with her new family!

Our Third Foster: Molly

Molly was surrendered to the rescue at the adoption meet up in Tampa on Saturday because her previous "family" was having another baby. Apparently they contacted the rescue two months ago and wanted to surrender her but took this long to give her back. They had her on acute anxiety medication and Prozac which are both pretty rough on her system so we are currently weening her off of the pills and she will be completely off by next week. We want her to be able to enjoy her life without being so drowsy from the medication.

Molly is a 9 year old beagle mix who looks strikingly like our Cali girl! Other than some features in the face, they could be twins.

  

Molly is the perfect mix of a lazy/snuggly and happy/playful girl and is getting along great with our pups! She loves to snuggle up on the couch or in bed at night but also loves to carry her ball around and to play fetch.

She has proven to be a little escape artist already escaping from her crate once and digging a hole under the fence all within the first three days that we've had her but she is super content when people are around.

We're excited to learn more about this sweet girl and help her find a forever home!

Our last night with Misha

Tonight is the last night we will spend with our second foster pup Misha and even after all we've been through, I will miss this sweet pup. I truly hope she finds a perfect forever home that will love her forever because she deserves it. Unfortunately we just can't be the ones to help her find them. 

Back story:

We became the third foster family for Misha after an incident with cats in her previous foster home. She had a weight issue and limped on her back leg plus ended up having a UTI. 

About three weeks ago, Chipper and Misha got into it in the kitchen and neither Matt or I were around to see what happened or what started the fight. Chipper was limping a bit but was fine the next morning. We obviously became more cautious about all of the dogs being together and kept an extra close eye on Misha over the next few weeks. 

We spoke with a behavioral specialist who gave us all of these ideas about helping her lose weight (which she needed) and helping her with other behavioral issues like helping her stay out of trouble by keeping a leash on her at all times to redirect her bad behavior (which was pretty effective). We felt like we were on the right track and Misha was doing better and actually starting to listen and respect us. 

Three nights ago, everything changed for the worst. We had kept the dog food in the sun room and Misha had stopped in there on her way back inside to see if she get could get into her dog food which she did successfully. She grabbed a mouthful and dropped it on the floor to eat. I was standing right there and allowed her to finish when chipper came out to the room to sniff around to see if there were extras left on the floor for him. He took about two steps into the sunroom when Misha snapped. She grabbed him by the neck, flipped him on his back and began attacking him eventually piercing through his ear. I pulled her away and she reached back and bit my hand in the process. The first time I've ever been bit by a dog. 

I was so shaken up and Matt was furious that this was the second time she had attacked one of our dogs plus she had gotten my hand. 

We made the difficult choice to ask the rescue to move Misha to another foster home that may be more experienced in dealing with aggressive behavior because we had no idea how to help her and don't want her to end up seriously hurting a human or another dog. 

We both feel the need to protect our family which includes our pups and hopefully we can continue the fostering program while doing just that. I wish we could give Misha more and pray that she will have the happiest life without incident because she truly is a good dog and deserves every minute of it. 

I will miss you sweet girl. <3

Misha loves Wekiva Island!

This is a photo drop from our recent trip to Wekiva Island with Misha. She loved meeting all the new people and all the new smells of the park.

Foster Number Two: Meet Misha!

Misha

We got Misha on September 26th after she got in a fight with her previous foster mom's cats. Matt was super sweet and went to pick her up while I was at a blog conference all day so I was excited to come home and meet her! She was happy to see me too and let me love on her right away. She is definitely a "people dog" and loves when we have visitors.

She was picked up by the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue from animal control right here in Orlando in July because her family "struggled with what to do with her". I'll never understand how someone can have a dog for so long and then just decide one day that they don't want her anymore.

Her favorite activities include eating (duh, she's a beagle!), sleeping, playing tug of war, and being pet. She loves being pet so much that sometimes when you stop she will let out a little bark to let you know she's not done being loved on yet. She is a very playful pup and will bring you a toy to play tug of war but doesn't quite know how to play with other pups. She tries to wrap her legs around them which typically results in growling and barking. She gets along great with her foster brother and sister otherwise.

Misha limps on her back legs and we are working on helping her lose weight to make getting around a little easier for her. She has a skin condition on her front left paw, both of her back legs and on her chest which she licks at occasionally but don't seem to bother her too much. She can be a little lazy and stubborn when you want her to go outside or in the crate but will come with you right away when you grab onto her collar. She loves being in her crate and doesn't make a peep when she's in there!

Such a playful pup!

We're excited to help this sweet girl find her forever home!