Happy Birthday!

Hi Everybody! It's Zoe! I know we don't usually have two posts in one day, but I just wanted to wish my favorite human a Happy Birthday.

You all know her as Ann, but I call her Mommy. I just want to say thank you for all that you have done for me over the years. You are the best Mom ever. Who else would have created a playcare just for me?

On behalf of myself, Ziggy, Dallas, and Doppio, we just want to say Happy Birthday and We Love You!

Love and Licks

Zoe

Wed - 5/26

Hi All 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50zw7Q5sgpI 2- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWrBvXkhJe0 3-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqgRI24z2b4

Monday - Dozer's Back !

Hi All !

Today is Monday and we have 70 dogs.

We would like to welcome Jake (cockapoo) to our Canines Unleashed family. Jake turned 1 year old last month and started out with the big kids today. He is doing so well that he is already in with the big pack and having a good time. Welcome Jake ! (see pic #1)

Today, even with the relatively low number of dogs, we happen to have 7 boxers with us so we decided to proclaim it "Boxer Day" and try to get them together and take a picture. This was no small feat because, as some of you boxer owner's know, they have alot of energy and the attention span of a grain of sand. We tried to do it on the equipment outside but couldn't get more than 5 at a time before boxers 6 and 7 would leave out of boredom. (see picture #2) SO we went inside and after trying for quite a while Jill, Amanda, and Lindsey finally accomplished the impossible and got all 7 together. They are not all looking the same way but just to have them in the same shot was a major accomplishment (see pic #3) they are from left to right on the couch ; Sherman, Ricky, Cal, Otis --- on floor left to right: Henry A., Shockey, & Harley.

Good job Girls !

As most of you know last Monday was a very trying time for all of us. Besides the untimely death of our beloved Riley Eck and a few other things that I won't bring up again, we also had gotten the news that Dozer (Great Dane)who had been mysteriously sick for about 10 days now had taken a turn for the worst and was gravely ill. It was touch and go for a while and we weren't even sure he was going to make it. It is with great elation that I announce that Dozer has not only made a miraculous recovery but has already returned to us today at Canines Unleashed (See pics #4-#7 ). I can't tell you what seeing him did to me. I grabbed him and kissed him and wouldn't let go. He just wanted me to leave him alone and go back and play with his friends which I reluctantly let him do but at naptime he lay in my office and I can't tell you how happy it made me just to watch him sleep.

For those of you who don't know Dozers story, he spent the first 2 years of his life locked in a bathroom and beaten with a belt. The people that rescued him from that situation didn't really know too much about danes (they had 2 other dogs) and he never really fit in with them. They decided after 2 1/2 years of the other dogs beating him up and him being a sort of outcast in the home to give him up on Craigslist which is where I found him and decided to rescue him and find him a good home. When he came to me he had lost over 30 lbs in the last year alone. He was just skin and bones and had a hole in his leg that the previous owners said was from him chewing on himself for the past 2 years out of boredom, and he did alot of shaking almost like a constant shiver. You could actually see right through to the bone and tissue in the hole in his leg. Despite all he had been through he had the sweetest disposition. And when he leaned on me and looked up at me with those deep set eyes I knew all he wanted was for me to love him and keep him safe. I took him to the vet and gave him good food, some antibiotics for the hole in the leg that was infected, and lots of love and he was on his way. One more hurdle to over come was that he was afraid of other dogs. He also , at 5 years old, didn't even know how to play with toys or what to do with a bone. He was fine with my 4 dogs at home although he never left my side to be with or play with them but the daycare terrified him. Little by little he got used to it and one day we turned around and he was actually playing with the dogs. I was so happy that day at his breakthrough. He now loved coming to the daycare and was truly a different dog than the one I took in. During this time he gained over 30 lbs, his leg was doing much better and the shaking mostly stopped except in times of stress. Where he was sad and timid before he was now gaining confidence and starting to open up and even carry himself differently. But mostly it was evident that he was happy! The staff here and all the customers fell in love with him and soon there was a waiting list of people who wanted him. At the top of the list was Joan Mitchell who already had 2 dogs coming here --Maddy (standard Poodle) and Caesar (English Mastiff). After a brief adjustment period it was clear that Dozer had finally found his "forever" home. Which is why we were all so devistated that after coming so far and finally finding the kind of home he had wanted for 5 long years and also after being in that happy home for only a matter of months that Dozer became so gravely ill.

So he's back and getting stronger everyday but best of all he has that twinkle in his eyes back

and so does Joan. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. Sometimes there is a happy ending.

That's all for now

Ann and Zoe

Friday Pool Fun

I thought the pictures could speak

for themselves today. Double click the arrow above

Enjoy !

Thursday - pool day

Today is Thursday. We had 101 dogs. We welcome Shadow a Golden/Husky mix to our C.U family. (see Picture)

Shadow will be 4 years old in June and came for just 1/2 a day to try it out and although he was pretty shy he did make it into the big room and we hope we'll see him again soon. We decided it was kind of muggy so we would bring out the pools. For some of the young ones this is the first time they have been introduced to water. The "littles" were not very impressed and some in the large group decided they would rather stay inside but the group that did go out in the big yard had a blast in both the pools and the sprinkler. We have many videos today so I'll let them speak for themselves. ENJOY !

1) www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEG_-7jGXoU - Sprinkler -

2) www.youtube.com/watch?v=py959Dq-9Mw - Sprinkler 2 -

3) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf4vhUb5Gr8 - Big Yard Pool

4) www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXY8W8bc6ak - Big Yard Pool 2

5) www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJO_q3TX40M - "Littles" Pool

6) www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVBJo5Y5Igg - "Littles" Pool 2

That's it for now Ann and Zoe

Wednesday

Hi All ! Everyone was really tired today after our big day yesterday and our emotional day on Monday. Sometimes the highs and the lows can be so exhausting. It's only Wednesday and it seems this week has already been 2 weeks long. And even though we had 106 yesterday and only 94 today (did I say Only ?) todays dogs didn't even skip a beat and gave us another run for our money. They were absolutely crazy....... mostly in a good way. Lucy T (Old English Sheepdog mix) graduated from the littles to a small group of larger puppies and did great. It's kind of like in baseball being called up from Double A to the Triple A team but not yet ready for the Majors. Wow ! I am so not into sports and I don't know how this stuff is coming out of my mouth and into the blog ! Last but not least happy 1st Birthday to Enzo the cockapoo. Hope you had a great day Enzo ! Our videos today are of 2 of our smaller groups. The larger puppy group wich Lucy joined today and the group of adults that for various reasons could not have free access in the yard today so they had a rambunctious play group indoors and we filmed a little bit of it. Enjoy ! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev51nzTnx30 www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKUKqTVi3QY www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEjNP3jxtHo www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN1ikdsQB40 That's it for now. Ann and Zoe

Busy Busy Tuesday

Hi All !

We had so much going on today (Tuesday)

Let me first back up to Monday and welcome Otis

(Boxer- see 1st pic picture above) to our Canines Unleashed family. After meeting only 1 dog Otis decided he wanted to go straight into the large pack, which he did within about 30 seconds of entering Canines Unleashed, and he never looked back. Rarely do we see a dog with such never ending exuberance for life even when faced with a pack of over 100 dogs. He wasn't intimidated in the least. He just saw it as an opportunity to make

100 new friends. We expect Otis to be a very entertaining part of our family.

Back to Tuesday. Today (Tuesday) we had a special guest for the day. Peter Chen, a photographer from the Post Standard, was with us for the entire day. (See Pic #2) He was one

of the few guests that has been through pretty much every aspect of what we do in a day (Although he didn't stay after closing to help clean--what's up with that Peter ?) Peter was also one of the only people brave enough to do it entirely in the pack with the dogs. Sometimes when

we have a guest it upsets the balance of the pack and we have to work harder to keep everything under control but Peter was as relaxed in the pack as if he did this every day and the dogs were so well behaved and I think they were happy to have someone new to look at for a change. Hahahah! Seriously though, we had a great time with you Peter. We hope you enjoyed it too. Stay tuned for info on when to see us in the Post Standard.

While Peter was snapping pictures, three of our "Young Ones Pack" (Satchel, Mario, and Bently)

didn't even seem to notice he was there. When these guys are together they are always in their own little world and fun is the name of the game. See pictures #3 & #4.

And finally, we are happy to announce that Minnie the great Dane (pic #4 above) has made a breakthrough and has joined our big pack today. Minnie came to us as a very shy dog afraid of other dogs. She has spent the last few weeks in small packs of dogs just learning that Canines Unleashed is a fun place and other dogs are not necessarily something to be feared. It was a hard road for Minnie. The first day she was in a pack of only 5 dogs and she was scared, nervous, and uncomfortable the whole time. We slowly moved a few more carefully selected dogs into her pack each time she came and today she moved through the big pack with the knowledge that we had her back, nothing bad was going to happen to her here, and Canines Unleashed was a fun place. Nothing is more rewarding than to know we have made a difference in a dogs life. That is what we are here for. Whether it's to help a dog gain confidence and get over some of their fears, to help find a dog a forever home, or just to watch them have fun and happily be a dog. That is what Canines Unleashed is all about .

Monday we had bad news about some of our daycare dogs it seemed almost all day long. From gravely ill, to someone moving , to even a death. We had heavy hearts and there was a gloom over the daycare. It made me, and I'm sure some of my staff, wonder if we could really do this job and over and over again go through the end of the inevitable short lives of these "friends" that we love so much. But then today, in my mind partly because she knew we needed a boost, Minnie makes an unexpected breakthrough and we again feel like we made a difference in her life and what we do here really does matter. And as the other dogs, who also feel our pain, gather round each of us for much needed kisses we have a really great day and they once again give us the strength to start to get over yet another loss and show "US" for a change

what Canines Unleashed is all about.

That's it for now

Ann and Zoe

Monday 5/17

Hi All,

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of one of our long time C.U. Family members, Riley Eck. Riley was an 8 year old shepard/husky mix who has been coming to Canines Unleashed for over 6 years. He was such a happy dog and always seemed to have a smile on his face to go along with his wagging tail. We all love you and will miss you Riley Boy!

Friday and Saturday 5/14 - 5/15

Hi All ! Friday was quite a busy day around here. Along with the 100 dogs we had today we also had 2 new dogs, 4 Birthdays, 2 tours and an evaluation. Needless to say there was no time for friday videos. The new dogs were Sadie, a 4 month old Corgi, and Brownie a 10 month old puggle. They both were additions to the "Littles" group (at least for now). Sadie was a little spitfire and jumped right into the playgroup while Brownie prefered to sit back and watch for a bit before she ventured in. Both dogs came back for their 2nd day today (Saturday) Happy Birthday to Ollie and Jabba both 1 year old and Max P and Caleb. Speaking of Saturday, we had quite an active group today so we decided to let the saturday moms and dads see what a playgroup is like on a saturday video. We had 15 dogs today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_537GjYZBI www.youtube.com/watch?v=T28PgIJoEIs

Thursday 5/13

Hi All ! Today was a great day. We not only got to play outside but inside we got our bubble machine going. The dogs always love it when the bubbles come out. Today in our littles room we had Bentley N. (Biewer Terrier) in for his first day at Canines Unleashed (see Picture Left). Bentley just had his first Birthday on 5/3. We welcome him to our "Littles" family. I actually got the videos up pretty easily today. I still don't have any idea what happened on Friday. I apologize again for those missing videos. Some days you got it and some days you just shouldn't even get out of bed !!!! That's it for now. Enjoy todays videos "Littles" - www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm3OsjnG4RI "Bubbles" - www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnndCFOEDa4 "Outside Play" - www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUHd1gSFBM Ann & Zoe

Mon - Wed

Hi All ! Well I tried all weekend and couldn't get our Friday videos up onto the blog so I give up on those. To recap the week so far: Monday we had 82 dogs Tuesday we had 105 dogs Today (Wed) we had 88 dogs Happy 4th birthday to Molly Ross (Golden Doodle) Happy 1st Birthday to Charlie (Great Dane) It has been a pretty uneventful week so far. The rain and the cold has again dampened our spirits around here but just when we think we can't stand it anymore someone senses we are at the end of our rope and plants a big wet kiss on us and makes all things possible again ! Most people don't have a job like that........without a harassment suit!!!! HAhahahah! Thats it for now. Ann & Zoe

Friday - Happy Mothers day !

Hi All ! Today is Friday May 7th and we had 102 dogs. Happy Birthday to Teddy D. We at Canines Unleashed would like to wish everyone a very happy Mothers day ! For some reason these links are not working right now. I will keep trying to fix them and delete this message if I am successful. 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?=PXg9b-MS00O 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?=I4PawAVUI04

lazy Thursday

Hi All Not much out of the ordinary happening today. You would never know there are 100 dogs here. Mostly everyone is just hanging out today. Not alot of running not alot of noise. Just a real mellow day.

The only 2 that will not stop are Carmelo and Atlas (Husky puppies). They have been inseparable today and non stop playing. They even went so far as to take a nap together. At first we didn't think that would work but soon after lights out they were in each others arms fast asleep. As soon as the lights came on they were at it again. Thats what a power nap will do for you. (See Carmelo and Atlas above)

Happy Birthday to Rudy (Beagle) and Daisy G (Black & White mix) both 2 years old.

Tuesday and Wednsday

Hi All ! Tuesday we spent a few hours in the dark during the thunderstorms and for a while after. See 1st photo of Guinness (chocolate lab) trying to hide under the desk in the office thinking it was the apocalypse. There was no fence, wall or door that could contain him while the "sky was falling down" so I let him stay in my office. Everybody knows if your head is hidden then no one can see the rest of you !! Hahahah! There were 102 dogs on Tuesday. Happy Cinco de Mayo (Wed) Today the sun is shining. We have 93 dogs including quite a few "littles" .

Brody (Cairn Terrier) decided he wanted to sit in the chair that Jack (pug) was already sitting in (picture #2 above) even though there was an identical chair right next to them that was empty.

All the littles had a great time today both in their yard and inside in the tunnel (see video). www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQL7D6Wdwzk A very Happy Birthday to Beatrice (Ridgeback) . Beatrice and mom (Helen) are long time customers of Canines Unleashed from way back in the old building. If my paperwork is right Beatrice is 11 years old. That is so hard to believe because she looks and acts like a much younger dog.

But then again Beatrice I look only 29 Right ?...........Hahaha!

Monday 5/3

Hi All ! Zoe here. My mom is taking the day off and she gave me full control of the blog today. Well the Fingerlakes SPCA show was yesterday (Sunday) in Skaneateles. It is the first time Mom and I haven't done it together in over 6 years. Mom says I'm getting older and I have to slow down and retire. She says the shows are just too much for me now but sometimes I think it's her that's getting older and can't do the shows. We probably will never see eye to eye on that one but hey don't bite the hand that feeds you right. I think that also goes for getting her mad. Heh heh heh. Amy and Amanda were at the show in our place. I wonder which one was standing in for Mom and which one was standing in for me........anyway they told me some of my friends from Canines Unleashed came out to see them including Emmitt, Brody and Riley, Ms Martha, Delia, Drew, and Tator. (see pics above) Paxton also came out to visit but Amy told me that she lost power in the camera as she was taking his picture so we apologize to Pax's mom and Dad for no picture but Pax was there as well. Despite the constant threat of showers, I hear a good time was had by all. A special thanks to those that stopped by. Today (Monday) we had 82 dogs. We would like to welcome Lily C. (Havenese)(See Picture above) to our Canines Unleashed family and our "littles" pack. Lily fit right in on her first day here. Before mornings end she was playing and having a ball like she had always come here. Well, thats it for now. It's time for my beauty rest. Have a GRRRReat Day !

licks and love---------Zoe