MY NEW FERAL DOG (foster dog)

Yesterday we picked up our new foster dog. Her name is Quinn, and she's 9 months(ish) old. We were told she came from a farm where she had no human interaction, which makes her a feral dog. She is absolutely terrified. She has no clue why she's in a house, confined to a small area and surrounded by people. She didn't come out of her crate at all yesterday. We heard her walking around her confined room while we were in the basement, she likely thought she was all alone, and felt safe enough to venture out of the crate. It's a very sad situation, and from what I've read online, taming a feral dog can be a very long process. Wish us luck, we will keep you posted!

How to build a garden

I would like to start by saying we are beginner gardeners - this is our first 'real' attempt at gardening! If anyone has tips for us, please feel free to leave comments!

We started to build our raised garden beds this weekend. We used several 2x4's cut to our desired lengths (our beds are 6'x3') with 2x2's on the inside of each corner for support. Each of the 2x2's was pounded several inches into the ground before attaching to the 2x4's. We might place additional 2x2' along the longer sides for extra support. These could always be added to the outside of the beds once the garden is planted, if we decide we need it. I plan to stain our beds with some sort of weatherproofing agent once the weather improves a little more.

As you can see we only built 2 of the 4 beds (but pounded the supports for all 4) We are deciding if we want to place the others in a different area of the yard that may get more sun. (It's hard to tell how much sun they'll get with no leaves on the trees, and shorter days still)

We will cut down the supports to the same height as the beds, but we want to make sure the dogs don't get into them first. If the dogs are causing trouble, we will add chicken wire to the top of the supports to keep them out.

I took these photos through the windows (which explains the screen you can see) because it was raining and I didn't want to get wet outside :)

We found some great priced compost on Craigslist which we will mix with some garden soil for a nutrient rich garden! We need to decide if it would make more sense to purchase several bags of garden soil from somewhere like Home Depot, or have a truck load delivered from one of the local nurseries or landscape companies.

Today I picked up a jiffy greenhouse and planted all of my seeds that need to be started inside. This is really  my first attempt at planting seeds (and a garden for that matter) so I will keep you updated with my progress!

(Day 1 - just planted)

Today I planted two types of tomatoes, two types of peppers, and one of our lettuces. I also need to plant our peas and the rest of our lettuce once we get the soil in the bed - the peas should be planted before the last frost of the season, and the lettuce just after the last frost (how we know when exactly this will be, I am not sure - to be safe I am going to save a few seeds incase I need to replant anything)

Wish us luck!

Day 4 (Day 1 being planting day) lettuce seeds are sprouting!

Wade: Day 2

From the thoughts of Wade himself...
6:00 am: I have been in this crate all night! Maybe if I start barking someone will come let me out of here! Arooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

6:05 am: It worked!...
I wonder if I will get in trouble for peeing and pooping in my crate... This is how it worked when I was stuck in my crate all day at the hoarder's house. Plus I had been holding it since yesterday when they picked me up from the shelter, which was at 3pm. What do they expect?

6:45am I'm glad this chihuahua is finally being nice to me. He's still a little grumpy, but I think he was trying to play with me earlier. It's just too bad I don't quite understand this whole playing thing yet...

7:30 am: Well I've had my breakfast and been exploring the yard all morning. I must admit, when the neighbor dogs bark, it scares me and I run back in the house. I wonder why barking is so scary!

7:45 am: Time for the crate again - I can finally relieve myself again... Oops.

12:00pm My crate is so boring... My crate is so boring...

3:00 pm: Hooray! Someone is home to play with me!!!

5:30 pm: I spent most of my afternoon romping around the yard with the big dog. She is friendly, but mostly just cares about her ball. I had another meal... I like this house, the people are nice and it's laid back!

6:30 pm: Going for a walk! I don't really mind this harness or leash, but I'm getting tangled up in thing easily. Do I walk on the grass, or the sidewalk, or the road? There are lots of friendly people at the park, they all want to pet me, and I LOVE little kids! People are so fun! I'm meeting a few dogs along the way too, I prefer the adults.

6:45 pm: Cars are scary! They're loud, when they drive by I want hide! P.S. I still haven't gone to the bathroom outside, even though this walk is going to last an hour.

7:30 pm: Home sweet home. It smells delicious in here, like BACON! Turkey bacon that is.

8:00 pm: I guess I was looking suspicious, because the pretty blonde took me outside, and guess what... I got SOOOOOOOOOO much praise when I finally peed outside... Maybe I'll try doing that again sometime.

8:05: ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Time for a nap...

Wade

Wade is our newest foster puppy. We had decided after the last foster puppies that we wanted to try fostering an adult dog - which generally ends up being more long term than puppies - but when we received the phone call for this little guy, we just couldn't say no.

Wade is about 4 months old, and we were told he is a beagle mix, though he neither sounds or looks like a beagle in my opinion! He's doing pretty well for his first day in a new place, rather timid and quiet but not wanting to be left alone either.

He is fixed and up to date on all his shots - and ready for adoption. If anyone is interested, contact the Animal House Rescue here in Fort Collins, http://www.animalhousehelp.org/ (they have applications online I think)
1104 W Vine Dr
Fort Collins, CO 80521-1702
(970) 224-3647

Unicycles and Super Heroes - Tour De Fat 2010

For some of us, Tour de Fat is like Christmas. It's an event we look forward to all year long, a day to gather with friends and family, a day of traditions and a day of celebration. A great deal of planning goes into Tour de Fat for some - building special trinket bicycles, making and finding a costume.

I am lucky enough to attend Tour de Fat each year at the 'Mothership' AKA New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, CO. The day begins at New Belgium Brewery as the crowds gather for the bike parade. Entertainment is ready at hand to occupy the particpants for about 30 minutes leading up to the start of the parade, though people watching would be enough to keep most busy during this time! Once started, the thousands of participants ride through the streets of FOCO, a day when there are more bikes on the road than cars!

After a few miles, the parade ends back at the brewery, where the celebration and fundraising begins. Beer tents and food vendors are set up for late morning and early afternoon. Live music, games and silly bicycles are set up to keep everyone busy. This year I had a wonderful time with many good friends and I can't wait for next year.

Fostering Shelter Animals

Are you an animal lover? Do you have a little extra room in your heart and home? Perhaps animal fostering is for you!

Shelters throughout the United States are overflowing with homeless and helpless animals. Many shelters must turn animals away, or even worse, euthanize. Often shelters cannot accept cats or dogs once the shelter's capacity is reached, until an adoption is made, which depending on the type and age of the animal, may take a several days, months or even years. One solution to this problem is animal fostering.

As an animal foster provider, you will open your home to the shelter animal temporarily. The shelter will provide the necessary supplies; including a crate and food for dogs, and litter box and litter for cats, in addition fo their food. Vet bills are taken care of by the shelter if necessary, usually the animals will be provided with care by specific veterinary hospitals which work directly with the shelter.

Foster animals come in all shapes and sizes. From young puppies who are too young to stay in the shelter, to elderly cats who were surrendered by their family. Sometimes the animals are strays who may require training, other times the animal will know every command in the book. Often the shelter you foster for will give you a questionairre and find out which sort of animals you're looking to provide a home for, and find you a match.

If you think that animal fostering is for you, contact your local animal shelter and get started. You will literally be saving a life.