Still Looking For A Home

 We still have foster Schipperkes waiting for someone to adopt them. I think the rotten winter weather has inhibited people, and we are hoping that some good applications come in soon. 

Bandit, the 14 year old boy has his weight down from 20.2 when he arrived to 17.5. He is getting around much better, and we should be getting another pound off of him. He loves to lie on the couch in front of the stove down in the basement.

Here's Bandit getting a checkup at our Vet this week. He is looking a bit sleeker now. 

Sophie is definitely ready to move on to a permanent home. We have had her and Atlas for nearly a year now, and they will both be good companions for someone. Atlas is not a lap dog, preferring to stay by your feet, but Sophie will gladly get in a chair with you. That is Sophie looking at the camera. Vinnie and Mina are crawling all over Susan, and Teddy is wishing he had the chair to himself.

Saartje, Schipperke, October 19, 2023

 Eric Janssen, Arnhem, Netherlands is one of our Facebook friends. His faithful companion for more than fifteen years is Saartje, and now she has passed away, in Wallonia, Belgium. Eric and his friends around the world are heartbroken. Eric has started his first trip without Saartje with him on the Valer. The wheelhouse is empty and lonely.  Visit his Facebook page and get to know him and his Schipperke. Eric has posted about their travels for many years.  "Her little body had gotten so tired, that rest is here now. The loss is huge, it's terribly empty on board."

"I wonder why it is a dog don't get to live too long, but he still has to die old."  Jim Stafford, Mr. Bojangles

Crankin' It Up: January Fitness Edition With Our Svelte Schipperke

Originally published January 2, 2014, this post with our little Skipper dog attracted a commenter selling boxing gloves. Might be legit, I don't know. If you need boxing gloves, check it out and let us know. I can think of better places to sell fitness equipment than the blog of an old overweight dude! 
The slicks in the newspapers are featuring fitness equipment, just like they always do in January.  We weighed Skipper recently, and he has his weight down to thirteen pounds, which is five pounds under his weight when he moved in a little over a year ago.  He didn't eat farina, but he loves to snack on carrots.  Skip is a bit nervous when he is up on the Brunny, and he was glad to get back on the floor.

Foster Schip Update

All three of the fosters at our house are ready to move on to a permanent home when the right matches are found.  Godiva would be quite happy to stay with us forever, and she fits in well with our dogs.  Someone, somewhere is a match for little Godiva, and they will have a great life together.  One of the neat things she has learned is to use the ramp to get up on the bed and back down. Our dogs are accustomed to jumping, and we got a ramp to keep them safe because of their age. Godiva knows nothing about jumping up on a bed, so the ramp was a natural path for her.  She loves to lie in patches of sunshine. She does not like rain or hot days.

Betty and Sisko are little firecrackers.  They had come in from playing a few minutes before this photo and went straight to their kennels to rest. Both of these dogs will need someone with plenty of energy. Sisko plays rough with Betty and he grabs her by a hind leg when they are wrestling.  Betty is smaller, but she can dish it right back and make Sisko back off when he gets too rough.  

Socializing The Fosters

Godiva (the blonde Schip) moved upstairs many weeks ago and has made great progress.  She has assimilated into our pack and now we are worrying about hurting her feelings when she moves on to her forever home. Last week we brought Betty Boop (above) and Sisko upstairs.  We move their kennels into our bedroom at night and we weren't sure if we would get any sleep the first night.  They cried for quite a while, and Jack tried to hide in a corner to get away from the noise.  The next night it took just a few minutes, and last night they settled down quickly.  Housebreaking is coming along great, and all three of the fosters respond well to their names.  We will be putting new writeups about these dogs on Midwest Schipperke Rescue's Facebook page this week.  There are always more people wanting Schipperkes than there are dogs, but that allows us to place dogs in the best homes for them.   If you are wanting to adopt a Schipperke, fill out an application with Midwest Schipperke Rescue and submit it to Michele Kasten at Schipnut58 (at) yahoo (dot) com.  Back To The Old Grind!

Got My Feet Wet This Morning, And Was Cold All Day!

I had to be out for a while this morning, and walking in tall, wet grass will make your feet wet. You can grease your boots, wade quickly through a stream and stay dry, but walk in we grass and you will have wet feet the rest of the day. Oh Well, the flowers were sure pretty, with the raindrops decorating them.

 After dinner there is nothing as good as a warm dog or three on your lap!  The little blonde one is Godiva, who is still looking for a home. 

The Schipperke Got Second

We missed this on TV, but we are catching up on YouTube.  The Schip ought to win every time by our way of thinking, but they usually do not.  Oh Well.