Save the Best for Last- Anise (Khaleesi)

By: Alicia S.

In early July, I picked up Anise (Khaleesi) from what she had known as a home for the previous month and brought her home with me (as my foster puppy). Her family had decided that a puppy did not fit into their schedule and they wanted her to go to a home that would appreciate the adorable and active girl she is. Khaleesi immediately made friends with her foster brother, Murphy and began pulling on my heart strings. I was told that she had been having difficulty picking up on house training, but she did not have a single accident in the house. She was great in her kennel and was a real snuggle bug. After about a week, she was trustworthy out of the kennel at night, and would sleep on her doggy bed beside my bed all night. In the morning she would wake me up with puppy kisses. I knew that I could not foster her indefinitely, as I was about to start grad school and before hand, we were doing major renovations to her house and I had a trip planned. Khaleesi had me considering dropping everything in order to adopt her. She fit into my family so well! Unfortunately, the timing just wasn’t right.

She went to another foster home for a few weeks and I could not understand why she hadn’t been adopted yet! She was after all, the sweetest and smartest little thing. Khaleesi came back to my house for a few more days before she went to her permanent foster home. I was heartbroken that she hadn’t found her family before I started school.

Cummins (Khaleesi) with her forever family.

Less than a week later, I picked up Khaleesi to take her to an adoption fair. She had recently been featured as the last of her litter in a “Save the Best For Last” Campaign through Manitoba Mutts. I knew that she would finally find her family. After a few nice families came and went with 8 week-old blonde puppies, I feared that there was little hope for my 5-month old, black beauty. Half way through the fair, a nice young man and his mother approached Khaleesi and I, and began to ask about her. Khaleesi was very smitten with both of them, but they needed to make sure they were making the right decision before taking her home. They had decided they would give it a few days, and once they were sure they would contact Manitoba Mutts. As the fair began to wrap up, Mother and Son came back, both smiling from ear to ear. They had discussed it, and could not chance Khaleesi going home with anyone else. They bought Khaleesi a new bed and everything else a puppy needs and were ready to take her home. As I handed over the leash, she happily followed her new family to their car. It was bittersweet for me when she didn’t even look back. Finally, she was home. Khaleesi, now Cummins, has a wonderful new family and I’m pretty sure she’d agree that it was well worth the wait! 

Save the Best for Last – Azure

By: Kim M.

                  When my husband and I were asked to take two more fosters, our first encounter with 2 dogs, we were excited. We were getting 2 of the “car” puppies, Nova and Mercedes, but their siblings Cobalt and Azure were going to spend the day with us too until they were picked up. They were all great, playful, adorable little 6-week-old dogs.

Cobalt, Azure, Nova and Mercedes (L to R)

We had Mercedes and Nova for 3 weeks, but they were scooped up at an adoption fair rather quickly. It is always so hard to let them go, especially when they’re so adorable! But then we were given the opportunity to have Cobalt and Azure come back and join us, so I was rather excited. So, at 9 weeks old, Azure came back to us with her brother Cobalt. They played together, they loved all the attention they got, and they learned very quickly! Within no time at all they were house trained, knew their names, could sit, shake a paw, and walked lovely on a leash.

Much to our surprise, neither Cobalt nor Azure was adopted at the Canada Day celebrations on Osborne, while there was a lot of interest in all of the adorable Mutts. I was happy; I wanted a little more time with my awesome fosters. So we had longer to play with and train them, and then came the Morris Stampede. Cobalt was adopted by a wonderful family in Morris, and this left our sweet little “Azzy” as the last of her litter. Much to our surprise, she stayed with us for a few more weeks, though there were no complaints here! She continued to be a happy, playful loving dog, and we enjoyed every minute of having her here. She made friends with other dogs, and had a great time playing while waiting for her “forever” family to find her.

Azure and her friend Nyah

My husband and I left for a vacation, leaving Azure with another great foster, and we were hopeful she would find her forever family while we were gone. How could such a sweet little girl not have been scooped up? Well, when we returned from vacation, she hadn’t quite been adopted, and honestly, as selfish as it sounded, I was relieved. I know she was the last of her litter, and we really wanted her to find a great home, but I would hate for her to be adopted without being able to say goodbye, as she was with us for two months. Then, two days after returning from vacation (on my birthday as a matter of fact) two wonderful women came and met Azure, and fell in love with her right away. With Azzy, you could tell the feeling was mutual. So while it made my birthday a little sad, it was a great gift to see the “best for last” girl finally going to her “forever” home.

Going by the name of Clover, she now lives in Winnipeg Beach with a gigantic yard to play in, water nearby for her favourite pastime of swimming, and two amazing owners who are certain to spoil her rotten. It was amazing to get the chance to see her grow from a little 10-pound puppy into a beautiful 30-pound puppy by the time she left us. One thing we know for sure is that this girl always has been, and always will be loved.

Save the Best for Last - Ruby

By:  Faye T.

How to begin with Ruby? There are so many stories that come to mind with my “Save the Best for Last” foster pup. I must confess that in the short time she was with me, I fell in love. Had I not had three dogs of my own, my first foster would have been a “foster fail.”

Ruby had been adopted and returned because of her high energy level. That wasn’t too much of an exaggeration. She was a bit of a whirlwind.  A play date with her brother Fritz led to a tired Fritz and an energized Ruby. I could see how she could tire someone out. I was told that in her first home she managed to break into the neighbors’ house, gather their clothes and shoes and spread them on the lawn…they had to change the doorknob! A bored Ruby was not a good thing, as she apparently became a felon.

What wasn’t mentioned was her intense desire to please, her gentle spirit and her incredible smarts. She learned very quickly what she should and shouldn’t be doing. That wasn’t to say she didn’t try to test the limits. She would do something she wasn’t supposed to do, like steal socks, and wait for me to respond to her.

I called her by a variety of nicknames, “Ruby, Ruby-doo”, “Ruby Gloom”, “Ruby Blue” (I was painting the living room and she helped a little) but finally settled on “Ruby Roo”. If she felt she was being criticized unfairly she would sit back on her haunches, make eye contact and “roo” back at me. As in, “Ah roo roo roo”. Her sense of justice extended to walks. If I corrected her on lead one too many times, in her opinion anyhow, she would grab the lead in her mouth and shake it hard as if to say, “See if you like it.”

Ruby in her foster mom's back yard.

She was a cuddle-bug too, and loved nothing more than to be with me. If I weren’t paying enough attention to her she would either jump on the couch to cuddle, or steal the nearest shoe. She never chewed a shoe, just paraded through the house wearing a huge doggy grin as she carried it past me. The idea, of course, was to give her attention. Ear rubs would cause her to stretch her neck like a little deer, and wait for her neck to be massaged too. She was also the master of the “drive-by licking.” A run past the sofa where I lay watching TV was cause for a fast lick as she moved past, and if I wasn’t appreciative enough, the cat’s ears could always stand a cleaning.

Ruby’s adoption was bittersweet. I could not have imagined a more perfect family for her if I had picked them myself. She has a sister named Olive, who is as highly active as she is herself, and two human dads who dote on her. I will confess that I did cry on the way home. She has such a presence that the house felt terribly empty. I am grateful for being given the chance to get to know her and to help bring her into a loving home. I have heard, “I couldn’t foster, I couldn’t give them up.”  I felt that way with Ruby.

I have since come to realize that fostering is actually very selfish. I get to love lots and lots of “fur babies”. I get to bring joy to the people who adopt them. I also get the support and friendship of a lot of people who understand how I feel about animals. 

Save the Best for Last

By MMDR
Running from Thursday, August 9th until Sunday August 18th, Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue is launching our first Save the Best for Last campaign. Eleven of our adorable mutts will be featured in this campaign with the hopes to find them perfect forever homes. These puppies and dogs in particular are special as they are the last remaining from their litters. As a kick off for the campaign MMDR will be offering a special one time savings of $50 off the adoption fee for any of these dogs adopted during the span of the campaign. (Adoption process details http://manitobamutts.org/adopt.html) If you are interested in meeting any of our featured dogs they will be wagging their tails on Saturday at the St. Norbert Farmer's Market Adoption Fair http://www.facebook.com/events/222916574492852/ along with several other dogs and puppies looking for their forever homes.

In addition to featuring our Save the Best for Last feature dogs, we also will have merchandise for sale and Foster information on Saturday at the Adoption Fair. 

Featured Save the Best for Last Dogs:

Dylan Saunders, female Shepherd X born 4/1/2012, apx 60lbs full grown. 
Hi, I'm DYLAN SANDERS! I am such a super happy and sweet puppy that loves to cuddle and to just be by your side!

Grant, male Shepherd X born 3/23/12, apx 55-70lbs full grown.
Hi, I'm GRANT! I’m a little bit of a shy boy but I warm up to people quickly.  

Sugar, female Shepherd/Husky X born 4/13/2012, apx 40-50lbs full grown.
Hi Guys, I'm SUGAR!! I'm a Special girl with Special needs, you see I'm blind and partially deaf... but that doesn't slow me down!!  

RUBY  / Terrier Border Collie X / 40-50 lbs
Born: Dec 29, 2011 / Female
Hi there I'm RUBY! I am house and crate trained and I know how to sit and shake a paw. 

Remi is a fantastic dog who is doing wonderful in foster. He's medium sized collie X (about 55 lbs) who's just over a year old.

Lexy, 1 year old female Cocker Spaniel/Boxer X, apx 50lbs. 

Hi I’m Lexy! I’m a sweet and playful girl, looking for a family to call my own.  

Macey, female Shepherd X born 5/19/12, apx 50-70lbs full grown. Hi, Macey her! I'm a playful home excited to find my forever home!

MAYHEM | Cocker Spaniel/Boxer X | 55lbs
1 year old
I'm a really good boy who is very gentle and loves to give kisses.  

AZURE - Lab Husky X (female)
Born: April 15 / 2012
Hi I'm AZURE a fun loving girl that LOVES to Play and Cuddle!! 

Balu, male Lab X born 9/2011, apx 60lbs
Hi everyone! My name is Ballu and I’m a 9 month old lab X.  I came to MMDR with my brother and sisters from Morden where we were born. 

Anise, female Shepherd/Collie X born 3/20/2012
Hi, I'm Anise I would be a great addition to any family looking for a spunky new lovable member.