Another update on Polka which I just have to share.

I hope the furniture is nailed down.

This smart girl, Fiona, already knows to sit for food which is amazing because otherwise she has the attention span of a gnat. No worries, though. Her cute will batter down your defenses with a squeak and a nibble.

From the owner of Goldie, now Pawnee:

We decided to call her Pawnee, Indiana (it's the town in Parks and Rec which is our favourite show). She's doing really well and settling in great. Though Dingo has become a somewhat crotchety old man he still plays with her very nicely (sometimes I wish they'd get a long a little less, like when they wake me up wrestling on me in bed each morning). Pawnee's a bit snatchy with treats, but who can blame her - she's still pretty underweight (though I'm working on it, fattening her up and teaching her manners). She is great about letting us brush her, which is good because boy does she shed - the drifts of hair in the apartment are seemingly endless (no matter how much we sweep and vacuum more hair appears from no where). She's only been here a week and a half, so there's still more settling in to come, but she is definitely a beloved family member already. Thanks so much for helping bring her into our lives, we cannot thank you enough.

I walked Molly, probably for the last time, on Sunday. She's been transferred up to Toronto Animal Services North where she'll at least have a bit more space to stretch her legs. They've got large, enclosed yards and she can be let off leash for a bit of a run. I know she'll enjoy that since she loves to play. She hasn't really had a good chance to play in the four months she's been at TAS-South.

Molly and Bella at TAS West might share the record, or at least be approaching it, for the longest duration spent by a dog in adoption waiting for someone to take them home.

In the months she's been at TAS South, Molly's mouthing (it was never biting) has decreased noticeably but she still soils her kennel. It's very difficult, if not impossible to properly housetrain a dog at TAS-South since housetraining requires almost constant attention and there's just not enough staff or volunteers to provide that level of care. Up at TAS-North, however, they've got large outdoor yards where perhaps Molly can spend as long as she needs to do her washroom duties.

I know some of the volunteers at TAS-South have grown quite fond of Molly, despite her idiosyncrasies. It's hard not to get attached to a dog you see every week who doesn't seem to be able to catch a break. We all wish her the best of luck in her new digs and of course we wish her a home she can finally call her own.

Sometimes dogs don't present well when they're in a kennel. Actually, I'm surprised any dog presents well in a kennel. They have to deal with the stress and anxiety pheromones given off by the other animals. They have to deal with the boredom and isolation. They have to deal with dozens of people walking by their cages every day who might stop for a minute or might not but who all eventually keep walking by (except, of course, for the that one family who adopts). I think that's enough to drive most dogs a little bonkers.

Bobbi is a dog who doesn't present well in his kennel. He doesn't want to be in there. He wants to be with his person. He desperately wants to be with his person and whenever someone walks by and gives him a glance, Bobbi kinda freaks out thinking maybe this person is going to finally be his person. Bobbi doesn't realize that barking and jumping and trying to get someone to pay attention to him tends to do the opposite of attract and actually scares most people away.

Outside of his kennel, Bobbi is a really great dog. He's good on a leash. He's good with people. And he's calm. It's hard for me to say how he is with other dogs because at the shelter, he's definitely stressed so his behaviour around dogs will be different. He's also a bit of a chubster.

From the owner of Diogee, now Gunner, an awesome update:

A few weeks ago, this Chocolate Lab pup was brought into Toronto Animal Services South with a broken front leg. I've seen pups with broken legs before and I don't know what it is but they seem to act as if it's no big deal. No different with this one.

Broken leg or no broken leg, this little guy just wants to get your attention and play. He just had the pins removed recently and already he's treating his leg like there was never anything wrong with it: jumping, pulling, thumping on it despite any efforts to slow him down.

Polka giving some luvin' to his new big brother at their first meet and greet:

One of the things I luv about dogs is how fully committed they are to doing whatever it is they are doing. Reba is pretty good on a leash, a good steady walker, but when we hit the snowy patch, she finds a spot, a clean spot, and lowers her head and flops down, rolling onto her back and doing that squirming thing dogs do when they are either rolling in something disgusting or rolling just for the fun of it. She flops around and she is happy beyond happy and she gets up and she drops down again and more flopping, four feet up in the air, mouth open, tongue hanging out and her world couldn't be better.

I was talking with a friend last night. Dogs, if they are in decent homes and are relatively healthy, get a good ten to fifteen years of mostly unbroken, untainted happiness. If people could get that much over the course of their average lifespans of seventy five years, I think they'd count themselves lucky.

Perhaps this is a big part of the reason for why we get dogs - we soak up their happiness, increasing our own happiness quotient.

Of course I'm biased but this the most beautiful dog I've ever seen come through Toronto Animal Services South and beyond the good looks, he's friendly, goofy and will soak your face with one swipe of his tongue and knock everything off your coffee table with one swing of his tail. When I sat outside with him, people gathered around, oohed and aahed and snapped his photo. Good thing he loves attention.

He's less than a year old, so still growing, and he seems to have a voracious appetite so I wouldn't be surprised if he passes the 170 lb. mark by the time he's mature. The photos don't do justice to his size. If he stood on his hind legs, this guy would probably be able to grab whatever good eats are on top of the fridge.

Whoever adopts this Dane better get ready for all the "Where's his saddle?" comments you're going to get every time you step out the door with him - but it'll be worth it. There's no experience like the experience of walking beside a canine companion the same size as you are.

With the recent slush storm last week then the freeze, melt, freeze, the ground is a mix of icy, bumpy, muddy and I'm taking my time walking. Goldie waits patiently for me. Not that I would ever do this but it seems like if I took the leash off her, she'd walk beside me no problem and not take off. Her calm and gentle nature is a real contrast to the hustle and bustle of the hockey game crowd wandering around the CNE grounds.

Moka's got a case of puffy-cheek-itis with an additional side symptom of one-ear-up-one-ear-down-osis. He's one of three dogs rescued from a reserve up north and he is one nice pup.