Kittens!

These kittens came into ARC when they were only 3 days old! They're now 3 weeks old and doing great. Aren't they adorable?

At 3 weeks, their ears and eyes are open and they're toddling around pretty good.  They love people and start meowing whenever they hear their foster mom nearby.

They're just starting to play and learning the fine art of tackling :o)  Just in time for football season!

It's hard to tell if they're boys or girls when they're this young, but right now, we think we have 3 girls and 1 boy.  Both of the greys are little girls.  One of them is a bobtail.  One of the tabbies is a little girl and one is a little boy.  They both have bobbed tails.

We'd like to say a special thank you to Christine, who has been fostering these babies.  She's a real trooper, making sure that they're fed every 4 hours, keeping them clean (wow, what a mess kittens can make with kitten formula!!) and sending updates.  You're amazing, Christine!

We'll keep you updated as they grow!  We have video that we'll be posting soon, too.  Head over to our Facebook page for more updates and pictures at http://facebook.com/adoptbay or our check out our Twitter Feed at http://twitter.com/adoptbay. 

1st Edition of Paw Prints!

Hey everyone!

Check out the first edition of our newsletter, Paw Prints! We're very excited about it and hope that you'll enjoy it. We'll be expanding it as we continue to work on future editions. A very special thank you to Cameron, our newsletter designer and editor. You did a fantastic job!

We hope that you'll forward the newsletter on to your friends and family, and help spread the work about ARC. Consider posting a link in your Facebook, MySpace or blog.

Click here to see the 1st edition of Paw Prints!

Buster Brown!

Buster is an adorable Yorkie/Cairn Terrier mix who is happy and loving. He adores water and loves to jump in the shower with you...no worrying about this little guy staying dirty!

Find out more about Buster, see pictures and get information on adopting by clicking this link!

Adopt a Pet: Maria

Maria is a very sweet girl. She loves affection and is very content to sit on your lap for love and attention. She's very much a people cat. This little beauty is about 3 years old, and has a lovely personality to go with her gorgeous coloring.

Meet Mason!

Meet Mason! Mason is a handsome, joyful and sweet Treeing Walker Coonhound mix and he needs our help to get home. He's been in one rescue or another for 2 years now. Please watch the slideshow and consider forwarding this to your friends, family and coworkers. Post it on your Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blog, anywhere you can think of. You might make a world of difference to Mason.

Meet Bella the Beautiful!

Meet Bella the Beautiful! This cute 4 month old kitten has confidence, personality and looks...what more could you ask for? To find out more about Bella and how you can adopt her, go to her Petfinder page.

L.A. for Adoption!

L.A. is a cute and happy Lhaso Apso mix who will make someone a wonderful friend and companion! He's a little shadow, always making sure that he is not far from his foster mom, making her laugh with antics. He's been groomed since this picture, so stay tuned for trimmed version!

Meet Salty!

Meet Salty, the newest ARC dog. This guy is gorgeous! From his foster mom, Diana:

Salty is completely house trained! He is very smart and inquisitive and wants to stick his nose into everything. He is good with other dogs, not sure about cats! He is super playful and even wants to bring back the ball when you play with him. He stays very close and got attached to me very fast. He loves to cuddle and just needs a home where someone can give him a lot of attention. He seems like a very happy dog, all he needs is a little bit of trust...and he will love anybody!!

We believe that Salty is a miniature Australian Shepherd mix, and he's between 6 months and a year old. Right now, he's about 21 pounds and we don't expect him to grow much more, so he will stay small.

Check out Salty on Adopt-A-Pet and Petfinder.

We've been busy!

We've been busy here at ARC for the last few days!

To start with, Charlie and I went off to the shelter on Friday to see about saving some animals from deathrow. I always say that this is one of the best AND the worst parts of rescue. It's great to be able to go in and pull animals that would have otherwise been euthanized. But it's terrible walking out of there, knowing that some of the ones you left behind won't make it out.

Friday, we were able to pull 3 dogs into the rescue, so it was a good day. The first is Molly, a Schnauzer/Poodle (or Schnoodle, just because it's fun saying it) mix. Molly is about 2 years old and while she danced and jumped in her cage, when Charlie walked in, she settled right down. You can tell that she has a lot of energy, but she keeps it contained. She's an adorable little dog with a huge personality. She rode great in the car, walks great on a leash and is the perfect size for a lap dog. Unfortunately, the only camera that I had with me was my cell phone camera. Add to that fact that it was getting to be twilight (not a good time for a mediocre camera) and that she is a dark color and you end up with enclosed picture...it does not do her justice at all.

The other two dogs that we pulled are awaiting pickup by their fosters. Once their fosters get them, send pictures and name them, I'll write all about them. They're great little dogs, too!

The weekend ended on a great note...Chloe, the senior Himalayan cat, was adopted! Chloe was the only cat that wasn't adopted at our CATapalooza event last month and I was saddened by the fact that we couldn't find someone to overlook her age. It turns out, we did...her adopter saw her at the CATapalooza event and couldn't get her out of his head.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend! We have three great new dogs (don't forget to check back for more information on the other two, a Pomeranian and a Chihuahua mix) and we should be getting in a couple of cute kittens, as well!

And then there was one...

Today was ARC's CATapalooza event and I have to say it was a smashing success...for all of the kitties except one.

Yes, all but one. Every cat was adopted today, except for one. Gizmo, after 9 months, was officially adopted. Noah, the owner surrender who took losing his home so hard, found a home that didn't mind his shy ways. Tater, the cat who was abandoned to live a hard life outside when his owners moved without him, found someone who loved his affectionate and demanding ways. Thomas, the large Tom cat, who only wants to petted and loved, found a wonderful family.

So who was left behind? Chloe, our beautiful Himalayan diva, who loves to be brushed, petted and adored. And why was Chloe left behind? Chloe is 10 years old and that seems to be a major strike against her. Add to that the infection that she recently got over that caused her to lose weight, and you have a cat that everyone oohed and ahhed over, but at the end of the day, no one adopted.

Our happiness at all of the adoptions and wonderful families that we met today, was tempered by the sadness that we felt when we had to take darling Chloe back to her foster home.

But that's okay. Chloe is safe and loved in her foster home. And she will stay safe and loved in her foster home until we find the perfect home that she deserves to live out her golden years in.

Please consider being Chloe's forever home. Or, help spread the word about a deserving and loving cat, who wants nothing more than a place to call her own. Check her out on Petfinder, email us at Info@ARCofBayCounty.org or call us at 850-387-0224 for more information.

Step to the Rescue Video

Our Step to the Rescue dance even brought the media. Check out the video below to see the piece that WMBB did on our dance Saturday night.

Step to the Rescue Success!

Thank you to everyone who helped with, supported and came to our Step to the Rescue Dance last night. It was a definite success, bringing in about $2700 to help the animals! Stay tuned for pictures and more details!

Boomer - Ready and waiting!

Boomer - 1 y/o, m, Labrador Retriever
Originally uploaded by ARCofBayCounty

Boomer is a gorgeous dog in so many ways! He has that beautiful, glossy, black coat. He has a happy personality and is glad to meet new people. He gets along great with children, other dogs and even cats! He's absolutely perfect!

Unfortunately, Boomer suffers from what is known as Big Black Dog Syndrome. What is this, you ask? Nothing contagious, though it kills many dogs every year. Nothing threatening to those big black dogs that are in a safe and loving home.

So what is it? It's the unexplained reality that large dogs with black coats go unadopted across the country. No one knows why. Is it because they're harder to photograph? Boomer takes great pictures, as you can see (and if you'd like to see more pictures of Boomer, go to our Flickr site at http://tinyurl.com/99sge4), however they're often hard to photograph indoors.

Some rescuers have speculated that it's because often black dogs look mean. Obviously you can see from the photo that Boomer doesn't look mean. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He's friendly to everyone...he's a truly social dog.

Think I'm making it up? Unfortunately, I'm not. When you get a chance, do a search for Big Black Dog Syndrome. There are entire rescue groups dedicated to saving black dogs. Shelters across America are crying out for adopters to save their black dogs, before it's too late and they have to be euthanized.

Boomer is lucky, because his foster mom, Diana, saw him and knew she had to help him. But after many months of being in ARC, Boomer has still not been adopted, and has no prospects on the horizon. Won't you give him a chance?

For more information about Boomer and how you can adopt him, please visit his Petfinder at http://twurl.nl/u8mqwy and give Boomer a chance!