NorCal Doxie Fosters

Name: Hailey
Age: 8 years
Color: Red
Coat: Smooth
Sex: Female/Spayed
Size: Mini – 11 lbs.

Name: Raven
Age: 5 years
Color: Red
Coat: Smooth
Sex: Female/Spayed
Size: Micro-Mini – 7 lbs.

Hailey and Raven were surrendered to rescue because their previous owner is in the final stage of her battle with cancer. She needed to be sure her beloved girls were safe and going to a wonderful new home.

Hailey and Raven are a mother/daughter combo and at only 8 and 5 yrs old, they have prematurely white faces.  Hailey has unusual eyes which are brown but rimmed with blue.  This is most noticeable on her right eye - it's quite very striking.

Whenever their previous owner was hospitalized, the girls were left on their own with only a daily food visit by a family member.  Before arriving in rescue, they spent more than a month on their own.   This lack of attention over the last year or so left them in a bad state, medically, emotionally and mentally.

They were so clingy their first day in rescue their foster mom got very little done as she spent the day just holding these two.   A consistent routine and sleeping in the bedroom has helped these two relax and they are no longer so needy.

We next tackled their medical needs.  We updated their vaccinations and Raven was spayed, had a hernia repaired and was treated for an infected eye.  (You can see this eye issue in the photo - it should be all cleared up soon).

Now we are focusing on their mental state.  Other than cuddling with a human, all they used to do is cuddle with each other.  They had no interest in exploring the yard, playing with toys etc. We started taking them on walks and from the way they behaved, we don't believe they had ever been on leashes before.  Hailey is the brave one and adapted quickly.  At first, Raven did the walks with her tail tucked tightly under her.  Now Raven's tail is up and wagging.

The real progress with these two happened when Stephanie of Doggie Adventures in Los Altos, added them to her pro-bono dog list.  She has just begun taking them and so far they have been to the beach (which they liked) and the hills (which they loved! No doubt due to the presence of a wonderfully smelly horse stable and a landowner's lap to rest in).   They are much more outgoing now - in the hopes that they will get to go out!

They would like their new home to continue with walks and/or outings.  While they love to cuddle, now that they know there is so many interesting things to see and do, they want to get out and explore their world daily.

Being left alone, inside for days on end, wreaked havoc on their house training.  Their foster home has been working hard to get them back to being trained.  They have made significant progress and are almost 100%. They will need to be monitored for the first few weeks in a new home to make sure they don't regress.

This dog is being fostered in the San Francisco area.
Name: Helen
Age: 12 years
Color: Red
Coat: Smooth
Sex: Female/Spayed
Size: Mini – 9.4 lbs.

We received a call from a shelter about three stray dachshunds that had come in together. They all had medical issues that would take time to resolve, so the shelter was looking for a rescue to take them. Two of the doxies were younger females that had hair loss and needed dental work. The third was Helen. She was not the age of dog that folks are lining up to adopt. It didn’t matter. We wanted her anyway.

Rescuing Helen turns out to be one of the best decisions we have made. She is a delightful dog. She is a tiny little thing with a very sweet, very gentle personality. From the moment she arrived in foster care as a “stinker”, she has been a pleasure to have around. (An immediate bath fixed her smell. Helen who had known her foster mom for only five minutes before the scrubbing, wagged her tail the whole time).

Helen has cataracts (especially in her right eye) but they don’t seem to slow her down any. She managed to convince the dog walker that she needed to go on the dog adventure hikes despite her age and vision problems. She keeps up with the big dogs like a trooper. And if a squirrel crosses her path – he’d better watch out!

If there are people at home, Helen wants to be with them. She loves to cuddle. She is so gentle, she could go to a home with young children as long as they were equally gentle with her. (No babies or toddlers.)

Helen gets along great with the other dogs. A young female dog in her foster home is madly in love with Helen; and the cranky older female foster dog, who usually doesn’t like other dogs, has no issues with Helen either.

Helen is smaller than most cats and we believe she would do fine living with them. She has been debarked which we learned during her first day in foster care. She was scared to go down the hallway and wanted someone to come get her so she could join everyone. Since then, she hasn’t made a peep.

Helen is a really easy, extremely loving little girl. She is very quiet and would be happy to sit by your side all day long. Helen is scheduled to be spayed and to get a complete dental. She wants a home that will spoil her in her senior years the way she should have been spoiled all along.

This dog is being fostered in the San Francisco area.
Name: Maple
Age: 10 years
Color: Red
Coat: Smooth
Sex: Female/Spayed
Size: Mini – 9 lbs.

Maple first came into our program three years ago. She had been a spoiled, adored and well taken care of princess. Unfortunately, the addition of babies and toddlers to the household made Maple absolutely miserable, so she made her way into rescue.

Now she is back again as her former adopter has a new job which requires her to travel frequently, and Maple does not like being kenneled. The good news is that Maple was one of her foster mom’s all time favorite dogs, so she was welcomed back into rescue with open arms.

Maple is gorgeous. She is also a diva with an extra helping of dachshund attitude. She does not greet new dogs well at all (she does a great Cujo imitation), but with the proper handling, she gets past this quickly. As proof, not only is she living with a group of dogs (with new ones arriving all the time), she is also going on off-leash beach trips with big dogs! Her attitude also shows up when there is excitement at the door (such as a visitor who just rang the bell). You must also never try to move Maple away from a door with your leg/foot as she may bite. In her foster home, this problem is easily solved by picking up Maple and either holding her or putting in her crate before opening the door.

Maple is an extremely loving dog that really bonds with her people. She is more than willing to help you with your heating bills this winter. She loves to sleep under the covers with her person and it’s like having a nice hot water bottle in bed. She is also perfectly willing to let you dress her up in silly outfits. On cold days, Maple actually enjoys wearing sweaters or coats.

Sadly, Maple is not good with cats. She likes calm and consistency and this means no kids either. Respectful visiting grandchildren are ok, but the hustle and bustle of kids and their friends running in and out on a regular basis is too much for her. Maple should be crated around toddlers as they make her so nervous she may bite. Maple would do fine with another dachshund or two (at times she even plays with the other dachshunds and she shares her dog bed with an assortment of companions, including an annoying puppy).

Maple would love to have someone around most of the time but she is also ok with her people going to work. She would be happy to be an RV dog riding shotgun on the passenger’s lap. However, what Maple wants most is a forever home. Maple is perfectly housebroken and crate trained.

This dog is being fostered in the San Francisco area.
Name: Lazyboy (Zee)
Ages: 4 years
Color: Red
Coat: Smooth
Sex: Male/Neutered
Size: Tweenie – 14 lbs.

Zee came to rescue with his AKC papers and the most expensive dog food we have ever found! He had been a daddy's boy and was very well loved. He was surrendered to rescue when his family go no longer keep him.

Zee had previously lived in an apartment, and at his foster home, was thrilled to discover the joy of having a backyard. He quickly learned the doggie door and loves being able to go out and investigate.

We don’t know why the breeder named this sweet dog Lazyboy, because he is not lazy! Zee loves to go for walks! At first, he was a terrible puller on the leash because he was so excited. He has gotten better as the walks have become a consistent part of his routine. He enjoys all toys including a dachshund favorite – a rubbery squeaky. He follows his foster family from room to room and always wants to be near them.

Zee lived with children in his former home and we think he would be fine in a new home with children 8 and up. Zee likes other dogs and as he is young and playful, he would enjoy having a frisky doggie sibling. We don’t know how Zee feels about cats.

Zee is housebroken and crate trained. He needs a home that continues to get him out and about in the world and expose him to new things.