With River still waiting patiently for a foster home at our vet’s office and five dogs coming from the East Coast this weekend, we’re thinking this is a great time for those who are fostering-curious to come out of the shadows and announce themselves. We’re waiting with open arms!

Not sure if fostering is for you? Read on.

Foster families provide a much-needed soft spot to land on for dogs who have usually just endured a long and difficult journey. Most dogs who join our program have spent the last weeks living in a kennel with little human touch. Some of them need to learn to be dogs again.

We evaluate our dogs carefully, and only select ones who are great with people. Most of our dogs are also fantastic with other dogs, and some even like cats. While the Adopt-A-Bulls join us with varying degrees of that understanding-how-to-be-a-house-pet quality, they tend to be extraordinarily willing to work, and pick up new skills very quickly.

If you choose to join our program, we will take the time to talk with you about your unique needs and capabilities. We wouldn’t put a dog with a too-keen interest in cats into a home where a kitty rules the roost, nor would we place a young pup with somebody who works 12 hours per day.

We love when foster families have some experience with basic dog training, but beginners are welcome too! Our foster families have access to Love-A-Bull’s own four-week basic obedience course, which is held in two locations in Austin. We also have good relationships with a couple of experienced trainers, who are always willing to lend a hand in helping foster families work through little hiccups or puzzling behaviors.

Love-A-Bull takes care of all vet care for the animals, and if needed, will provide collars, leashes, tags, and crate. Most of our fosters provide their own food, beds, and toys, but we’ll gladly acquire those for a foster family in need.

Most of our dogs are adopted through our website and petfinder, which means that the more cute photos and stories you can tell us about your Adopt-A-Bull, the better a chance it will have. We also hold adoption events every few weeks — these events are a great way to meet our community and show off your foster!

Most of all, foster families are the foundation upon which our rescue branch depends to save lives. Without the generous families who open their hearts and homes to dogs in need, we wouldn’t be able to change these dogs’ world.

To submit a foster application, click here.

LIBBY (formerly PENNY)

Oh, Libby. When we whispered to you to be a good girl and make yourself at home in your foster home, we didn’t mean that you should make yourself literally at home!

Libby (formerly Penny) had been in foster care for a few months when foster dad started falling more and more deeply in love with her. We had a suspicion that her foster home would be her happy ending, but we kept our mouths shut and just watched. Sure enough, six months later, Libby is home! Although she came to us as a survivor of cruelty — brought in after Animal Control received a call about some kids burning a dog — she has left her sad past long behind. Now she’s focused on the present, and for good reason: she gets along famously with her canine sibling, and dad takes the dogs out to his family ranch on holidays and weekends to run, run, run. Libby is a lucky gal to have such a fantastic dad, doggie sister, and the promise of ranch-style vacations where she’ll get to play with other family dogs and explore the wilderness. Congrats, Libby!

BUCK ROGERS

We never could resist Buck Rodgers’ sweet little face. When we pulled him from a high-kill city shelter just hours before his scheduled euthanasia, we thought hewouldn’t be in our foster program for long. This guy has too much to accomplish! Even though he was very thin and sick when he came to us, his new mama fell in love with him at first sight. She could just tell by looking into our guy’s eyes that he would be her perfect companion: once spring hits, she and her boyfriend plan to train him to run the trails along with them when they go out on their BMX bikes! Go get ‘em, Buck Rogers!

We know for sure that River’s life was saved by the kind soul who rescued him from the Colorado River last week. What we don’t know is how many times his life had been saved before, and how many more times it will take before River can breathe easy.

The poor guy is sweet as they come, but just can’t seem to catch a break.

River was found last weekend, barely clinging to a rock in the Colorado River. He was emaciated, heartworm positive, suffering from hypothermia, and one side of his body was covered in deep, gritty wounds and scratches. Nobody saw him fall in to the river — or the events leading up to it — but his injuries suggest that he may have been hit by a car before his tumble.

After being pulled by Love-A-Bull and moved to a partner vet’s office a few days ago, River’s deep wounds and infections were cleaned up, and Xrays were taken to determine the extent of his injuries. It was at that time that the vet discovered that River had a fractured hip, a broken toe, and had BB pellets embedded deep in his chest from where he had been shot at some point in his prior life.

But River is a brave, strong boy who just won’t give up. He won over everybody at the vet’s office with his sweet personality and his courage, and we are amazed at how loving, optimistic, and happy he seems despite the suffering he has endured.

A few days ago he began daily hydrotherapy for his necrotic hip wound. He has taken to the treatment very well, and his wounds — though still dramatic — look much better than just a few days ago. In addition to the therapy that River is already receiving, he will likely need surgery to repair his fractured hip and heartworm treatment.

But in the case of River, when it rains, it pours. During a routine examination last night, River collapsed, went pale, and stopped breathing. He came back on his own without CPR, but the incident led to the discovery that River suffers from a heart condition called an atrioventricular block (or AV block), which impairs the conduction between the chambers of the heart. Although it is unclear what causes this condition in River’s case, we know that it can be exacerbated in any incidence of high stress or excitement, which can potentially lead to another collapse. River will be seeing a cardiologist to determine the cause of the AV block, which may be resolvable with treatment of the underlying issue.

What River needs right now is lots of TLC and a steady, quiet foster home where he can be kept calm and given the peace and comfort he needs to rest and recuperate.

If you may be able to provide a foster home for sweet River, click here. To donate toward his rapidly expanding medical needs, click here.

The city has achieved this incredible reduction in euthanasia through a set of initiatives that include free microchipping of pets, free ID tags, new reduced cost and free spay/neuter programs, free adoptions on critical days, and partnerships with local rescues and animal advocacy organizations that are working hard to make adoption more “cool.” In 2011, Austin opened a sparkling new state-of-the-art adoption facility that is both attractive and user-friendly for adopters and more comfortable for animals.

These changes haven’t been easy, but they sure payed off: in 2011, Austin achieved the elite and sought-after status of “no-kill city” — a well-deserved honor for a city whose leadership and animal care staff and volunteers work so hard.

And yet, even though Austin has achieved this well-earned recognition, 2011 saw the euthanasia of more than 2,200 cats and 900 dogs — including more than 400 pit bull type dogs — at the city shelter.

How does this happen?

Undoubtedly, some of these 3,000+ animals were too sick to save or had irreconcilable behavioral issues. But many were just regular, adoptable cats and dogs. The problem comes down to one of math. With limited kennel space, limited resources, and limited adopters, a publicly-funded shelter like the Austin Animal Center is required to take in any animal that is brought to its doors. When the kennel runs out of space, some hard decisions have to be made.

Because of the short straw that many pit bull type dogs are dealt in life and the still-lingering sentiment among some people that pit bull dogs are somehow different than others, a disproportionate number of these hard decisions affect our lovable block-headed friends. 400 pit bull type dogs under the needle is a huge improvement from 902 just the year before, but it’s still a lot of dead dogs.

So at the same time that we are celebrating the remarkable work being done by the city to make Austin a friendlier, safer place for homeless animals, let’s not forget that while “no-kill” is an aspirational phrase, our work is far from done.

Do your part — check out Love-A-Bull’s own adoptable dogs here.

The subject of our session will be — naturally — pittie power! The presentation will include the challenging issues that pit bull type dogs face in shelters, and the damage suffered due to misguided media and myths. We will tackle some of these issues, discuss creative solutions, and host a constructive dialogue about ways to boost adoptions, support owners, educate the public, and build partnerships, to better serve dogs that often, and unfairly, get a “bad rap.”

We hope to see everybody there! Here are the details:

American Pets Alive No-Kill Seminar 2012

• Location: Radisson Hotel & Suites, 111 East Cesar Chavez Street, Austin, TX
• Dates of the seminar: Saturday (2/25) 9am-6pm, Sunday (2/26) 9am-6pm, and Monday (2/27) 9am-1pm
• Lunch will be provided on Saturday and Sunday

Hotel accommodations: Attendees can get a room at the Radisson for $119 per night by calling 512-478-9611 or 800-333-3333 and mention the American Pets Alive! Seminar. Or go to www.radisson.com/austintx and use the promotional code PALIVE.

Details for registration can be found at http://americanpetsalive.eventbrite.com. For any questions regarding the conference, please email info@americanpetsalive.org.

Here I am in the leaves

The last of the leaves have fallen and I surely did my part to help clean up. I chewed up all the big sticks into little sticks to fit into the brown bags. I sat on the leaves to make sure they didn’t blow away in the wind and gave lots of kisses on a job well done. 

These sticks are too big!

After our chores a super-sized car pulled up. It had stairs, a bed, table and a huge window in the front. I knew the front window would be my spot to take in the sights.

I belong up front, see?!

We drove out to the country and followed deer trails and the smell of BBQ. I had brisket and cautiously walked around the fire sniffing everyone’s fingers for tidbits of sauce. I have a really great nose.

Next time I’m going to help with the vacuum cleaning, and maybe learn to swim!

We accomplished a lot in 2011. Here are some highlights.

• Trained 140 dogs through 23 free four-week classes
• Expanded training programs to North Austin

• Graduated 9 therapy dogs in brand new Pit Crew therapy dog program
• Gained 15 CGC certified dogs in our membership ranks

• Offered medical assistance for 50+ families and their pit bull type dogs
• Spayed and neutered more than 150 community dogs through the Pit Stop Program
• Adopted out 56 great dogs to loving homes
• Expanded to 40 active foster families

• Hosted the Texas-Sized Pittie Pride event for National Pit Bull Awareness Day, with an estimated 1,000 participants
• Signed up 40 pit bull type dogs for free spay/neuter surgery
• Made our national tv debut on Animal Planet’s “The Pit Boss” tv show
• Were featured in CultureMap Austin’s top stories of 2011 piece
• Registered 300 “unofficial world-record” photo shoot participants

Here’s to a satisfying 2011 under the belt, and an even brighter 2012 to come!

Help us find forever homes for our Adopt-A-Bulls. Below are flyers for our current fosters looking for a forever home, and more to come.

Please click on any of the adopt-a-bull pictures below for the PDF flyer. Hand them out to friends, post them at work, or put them up in your local neighborhood.

Thank you in advance from the Love-A-Bull Team! We couldn’t do it without you!

Coco (Puffin)

Emma

Janis Joplin

Maxine

Minnie Mouse

Nutty Brown

Peanut

(Pocket) Petey

River

Snickerdoodle

Truffle