Bella Brightens our Life!

About 8 days ago, my husband and I adopted our darling little Tinker BELLA (formerly known as Fieval) from Hopalong. She has been such a welcome addition to our family of two older dogs, a beagle and a Jack Russell terrier. She seems to have limitless energy and engages with everyone for playtime. As you can see by her picture, she appears to be a border terrier and possibly some schnauzer. We also have two Siberian Huskies (grand-dogs) that come to visit often:, so we were a little nervous about how Bella would be around them. She weighs 8 pounds while the Huskies are 50-60 pounds each. No problem there---the younger huskie just adores her and she actually wears him out with their play!
Last Sunday, I got brave and took the 5 dogs to the Fremont Dog Park---because it has the astro-turf surface I figured that they wouldn't get so muddy from all the recent rain. It seemed like all of the Fremont dog lovers decided the same thing, so the park was crowded. Once I turned Bella loose, she got busy "herding" all those big dogs and chasing them all over the place. She is fearless !
Bella is also very intelligent. She has learned so many tricks and is pretty much house-trained (it helps that we have dog doors for her to use anytime).
I can't thank Hopalong rescue enough for their care and support and a special thank you to the foster mom who did a fantastic job with her! I will happily tell everyone I know about the rescue and I'm sure we will be back to adopt in the future. Linda & Ed Sowell of San Leandro

Happy Tail

almost a month now ;-D
so a update on Jupiter

like my post below, he went to the vet and is now on "the pill" .

he has met several of the furry guys in the park and very social
ok one big dog ( illegal for the park) came through a screen door an we had a long hard talk and won't happen again, but Jupiter was totally safe !
he is slowly learning i am not the big boogie man ;-DD
and this is a short (35 sec) video of him in the back yard today !

so probably the last post as all is going well here, no problems at all
still too fast to use the front door,, but will come on command and a treat) heheheh

and loves long walks in the rain and cold windy weather ( i don't) but i do get my exercise ;-DD

Clink on this link to see a 35 sec of jupiter showing off ;-D

Happy Tail

well jupiter has been a experience for me ;-D
i thought i had everything lined up , new dog tag with a way to find home if lost, friend to drive and a cage in the back so no stress on me or the lil guy.

I was putting Jupiter the friendly corgie/terror in the cage and he managed to get out of his collar and took off running down the street ! he was very fast and traffic was faster, i tried but could not get close to him , But then his foster mom saw what was happening and called him and she brought him back !
have you ever tried "self induced CPR"

the Lil guy slept all the way back home, he checked out the yard and came inside and adopted the couch in the other living room. he was very quiet and shy all night long so let him be where he was with water and food if needed.
By the end of day 2 i decided to find a way to feed him ;-D so i "hot rodded" his crunchies with some salt free/no fat beef broth. yep one tablespoon and "poof" bowel empty and Jupiter back on his couch .

well i got his attention and tried a walk with the leash... WOW he is great! no puling, just nice well behaved and walks along my side. They said to watch out for cats, well we walked by a few, he looked and then ignored !

he still has this "6 ft comfort zone" but now he will follow me around the house and wonder where i am at. He learns quick and now will follow me to the bedroom and sleep in his bed.
perfect little gentleman on a walk. i live in a senior community and all the ladies are saying how cute he is and well behaved !

so now being a senior citizen i finally found a cute doggie can also be "date bait" hehehe

He is still a bit nervous so no fresh pictures, but the whole experience has been great !
i had a rescued doggie before but i will say that Hopalong was totally honest and no surprises with him ! Maybe we will go to my Vet next week if he feels comfortable with it? I want to start him on Heartworm pills ASAP !
NOTE to all.... back in the 70's i lost a basset hound to heart worm and not a nice thing ! now they have a pill that will prevent it, so get them on the pill !!!

with him being so fast and quiet i found it is safest to use the laundry room door as a "sally port".
when i enter and leave my house. and when i come back he is waiting at the door, sees me and then does his 6 ft comfort zone with his tail wagging.

I haven't been back to the bay area since 1986, but this trip was worth it !!

Ya Jupiter will fit right in here and i want to thank Hopalong for their good, no GREAT work !

Dennis

A new kitten

I had been thinking about adopting a kitten. Already having two cats I knew it might not be an easy task to find another cat to fit in with two established cats. I saw some kittens for adoption through Hopalong at a pet store one night. I asked to visit with the kittens not thinking I'd find one to take home. To my surprise the very first kitten I met was a friendly little guy. He had a perfect balance of friendly and playfulness and he was brave which I knew he would need coming into a home with two adult cats. After visiting with all the kittens I went back to the very first one and I knew he'd be perfect.

I filled out the paperwork and got a call the next day saying he was mine to adopt! I went after work and picked him up. I brought him home and he quickly settled in with the new cats. His foster name was Bee (which I still call him sometimes) but I changed his name to Bowie. It's been almost two weeks and Bowie is getting along great with by other two cats. He was indeed the perfect choice for my other two kitties.

I was surprised to hear that black cats aren't adopted as much as others. Bowie is a very friendly kitten, he's very playful but loves lots of lap and cuddle time with me and the other cats. He settled right in with me the other cats and I can't imagine not having taken him home and hope that other people can find that black cats can be just as wonderful as any other cat.

Thanks, Lauren

Black Cats and Kittens Need Homes Too

Studies show that black cats are about half as likely to be adopted as other cats. On average, they stay several months longer in shelters than any other cats. Black cats are frequently left waiting in shelters hoping to find a home only to be euthanized when their time is up.

Black cats are routinely overlooked by potential adopters for a variety of reasons – superstition, they don’t photograph well, they aren’t distinctive, and there are so many of them in the shelters that they just don’t stand out like the colorful calico or orange tabby.

Black cats have a common characteristic of being easy-going and good-natured. They have so much love to offer and ask for so little in return. Black cats do not all look alike and if you look closely you will see that they are truly gorgeous and regal creatures. The glossy satin sheen of a black cat is unlike any other. When their fur catches the light, it shimmers. There are many different kinds of black cats and all are beautiful – auburn shaded black, blue black, black with tiny white highlights, sleek black, fluffy black and colorful eyes – green, yellow, copper and gray. Some black cats even have tabby markings.

Nevertheless, many black cats never get the opportunity to show people how perfectly they would fit into the family’s household. Shelters and rescue groups encourage potential adopters to give a black cat a chance – their playful, easygoing attitude will charm you into making them a permanent part of your family.

Katrina and Hurricane

After being handed these two right off the van that late night in Sept. 5 years ago, they have changes our lives. Not to mention how their's has changed. After becmoing "foster failures" we adopted them.

From being hairless and full of cuts and bruises to the beauties we see today, we are very lucky. They didn't know toys, weren't spayed or neutered, weren't house broken and today they are therapy dogs and members of the Paw to Read Program where kids read to them. They travel all the time and sleep on the leather couch. Yep the furniture, their choice.

They live a truly blessed life.

Hurricane Katrina

5 years ago, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hopalong responded to the disaster by sending 2 teams of people to the disaster area to assist in rescue efforts. We worked in the makeshift shelters, waded through the flooded streets to pull animals out of houses, and came back with 50 dogs and cats and several goldfish. All the animals were treated for immediate medical conditions including heartworm, kidney failure, skin lesions, and anything else they needed to regain their health. Several were re-united with their families and the rest were all adopted to new homes in the Bay Area.

This is a photo of a mama kitty that one of our awesome volunteers helped recue:


And here she is now in her new home happy and playing with a new toy:

A big thanks to all the volunteers and fosters who opened their hearts and their homes durring this sad time.