The Forecast calls for FROGS!

My friends:

The weather in the land of the Frog Princess is positively torrential! We are in the midst of a veritable typhoon of frogs! Frogs are falling from the sky, they are rising up like snowdrops through the frosty earth, they are blowing like colorful leaves through our neighborhoods and fetching up in the corners of our porches. We find them snoring in our handbags, peering up out of the bottoms of our cereal bowls, struggling to pop in through the bathtub drains, and tumbling like scary walnuts out of closets. We found one waiting for us when the elevator doors opened the other day. Startled the living daylights out of the ol' FP, yes, it did!
We have owner surrenders, puppy mill survivors, abandoned dogs, found dogs, puppies, old timers, sick dogs, deaf dogs, mother and child dogs!
Allow us to introduce you to some of the 17 dogs we have acquired in the first 24 days of this month. Seventeen dogs in 24 days. That sounds like an average of about one frog every 36 hours, is that correct? We are reeling. Still, when they appear on the doorstep, who could say no?

Knock, knock! Who's there? Rosebud and Gabriel!

You've already met Gabriel. Technically he came in a little earlier than January, but we thought you'd like to know that his vomiting has abated and his blood pressure is under control now--but he's a trainwreck, and his vet bills are astronomical. Gabriel's being fostered in SoCal, and that accounts for some of the big numbers he's racked up, but he's also a whole constellation of ailments all in himself. He gained five pounds in the last month, then lost a pound. He's going to see the diagnostic specialist this week to see what on earth is going on in his tummy. Gabriel's foster mom says, "When he doesn't feel good, Murpheee goes and sits next to him butt-to-butt. Lillie and Murpheee and Rosebud and Gabriel are all working together to help each other get well and stay well. Community effort we humans could learn from."

And here is our beautiful Issy, who was surrendered because of her allergies and seizures. One of her ears was itchy and she had to go to the doctor and wear a collar, poor thing. She will be spayed in a week or two, and should be available once she has had a few more visits to the allergy doctor.

Archie was surrendered when he and a child had a disagreement about who was going to eat a morsel he felt was rightly his. He nipped. She yelped. Archie was shown the door. Here's a note from his foster mom about Archie's progress so far: "Archie has definitely come out of his shell and has found comfort within our home and neighborhood. He is a great student, learning the basics even though his attention is easily interrupted.

"He is somewhat food oriented, but not solely focused upon the treat, he loses concentration from time to time. He doesn't seem food aggressive when it comes to feeding time with humans, he has to sit and wait till the bowl is set on the floor before he gets to eat. He doesn't exhibit any aggression during those times, but I have not had my hand around his face during meal time. He is pretty good at taking treats, only when he's excited does he lunge and nip, but never hard."

The sweetly named Jelly Bean was one of a mother daughter pair whose owner had been forced by circumstance to live in a Frenchie-unfriendly home, and the dogs were suffering for it.

Jelly Bean's foster mom is thrilled to get to dress a girl Frenchie in girly colors!

Jelly Bean came to us in pretty good physical shape apart from her emaciation. She has a few circular marks that looked like burns or bb wounds, but the vet said they weren't likely to have been caused by that kind of deliberate abuse. She's living in a big city now and having fun going to work everyday! Here's what her mom says about JB: "She seems to be settling in nicely. She follows me from room to room and responds to anything I ask her. She loves people, loves the city.
She looks up at every stranger on street as if to be asking for attention. She has beautiful Frenchie eyes. She is not as high energy as my boy but she seems to really like him and plays well with him.
She has growled and snapped at him a few times, but it doesn't seem to be very aggressive. I think she is just unsocialized." We are hoping that time with her foster brother and other critters will fix her crankypants attitude with fellow canines.

See his poor worn-out paws? Herman's tired of walking those salty roads!

Herman was found starving and in danger of freezing to death on the streets. The shelter folks in the Jamestown, NY, shelter were very helpful and gracious in placing Herman with us so he can put some meat back on and find a fabulous Frenchie home. Every person who has encountered this boy has lost his heart. Herman is The Compleat Lovebug.

In contrast, meet Nigel, a young hooligan of 10 months who got a little too big for his precious wee britches and started challenging the other dogs in his home at mealtime. When he challenged his mamma, she regretfully decided he needed an attitude adjustment. We are seeing that he gets one!

This is Nigel way back in his salad days last May!

We know that dogs can start out in foster care presenting one personality, and then as time goes on they can exhibit more of the behaviors that got them surrendered. Here's an update from his foster mom:
"I have only had Nigel two weeks, but so far so good. He is very, very curious, playful and affectionate. He hasn't shown any food aggression but has shown some "jealous" behavior. He plays rough, but so do my two, so the three of them are very a happy. He has challenged each of my dogs once. My male Frenchie is very docile and just went submissive when Nigel snapped over a toy, however my big girl fought back when Nigel went after her over who got to get water first.

"Nigel was corrected after each instance and went very submissive to us and afterwards to my Newfie. He and the dogs SEEM to have their pack established now, but that is not to say we aren't watching him very carefully to see how his behavior changes as he gets more and more settled."

That face. We know he'd get away with murder at the FP's castle. Mm mmm.

And this is the supremely adorable 5 month old Chicklet. Because she wasn't housebroken, she had to live in the unheated shed. In winter. She's Jelly Bean's daughter. We are so glad their owner did the right thing and found us. Chicklet is busily gaining weight and emerging from the shell she had developed. On her trip to a foster home on the Underdog Railroad, she and Jelly Bean spent a few hours with one of our volunteers who described their interactions with her good-natured dog, Tex: "As far as their personalities go--not a day in their past has altered how sweet and loving these two are! Chicklet is a bit timid when you go to play with her, but its funny because she initiates play with you. It's almost like she wants to play so bad, but then thinks that maybe it wasn't such a good idea!
I took a few pictures of them playing with Tex too. Jellybean really took to him and they played almost non-stop. It was just too cute too, when both girls would try to gang up on Tex at once.
"Both dogs are extremely submissive and during play were completely comfortable with being on their backs and surrendering themselves to both my mom and me, and Tex. Both handled the bath well, but Jellybean wasn't as fond of it as Chicklet. Jellybean tried getting out the whole time, and after we had Chicklet out, she kept trying to get back in."
That's right! Chicklet wanted to be cleaner than clean after all that time in the shed! We think she liked the bubbles.

This is only a handful of the dogs in our care, and more are being delivered into our grateful, ready arms every day. With the exceptions of Gabriel and Herman, not one of the dogs in this post has a sponsor. If any of them strikes a chord in you or touches your heart, please take a moment to visit their foster page and click on the photo to send a PayPal donation. We'll post again soon about some of the other dogs we are catching in our butterfrog nets as they fly by.

Oops! there goes another one, cries
The Frog Princess