Meet Bud, Josephine, Scarlet and Fern

Welcome to our Dog Blog where you will meet our WagsInn Canine Charities rescues. We'll tell you their stories, how they come to us, what we do to get them ready for family life, and about adoptions into loving homes. First up: 

Meet Bud. 

To meet him is to love him. Bud is such a sweet old guy. When we brought this abandoned, elderly dog to WagsInn in late November, he had been found wandering on the outskirts of Springfield by Clark County Animal Control. He was taken to the Springfield Clark County Lost and Found Pets where he was dubbed "Lucky" and they sent out a notice asking for a rescue organization to take him in as their vet thought his time was limited. And so, we brought Lucky, renamed "Bud", to come live with us. We weren't sure what age he was, but it was abundantly clear that he was of advanced years and having some problems. (Clark County located Bud's owners who are being charged with cruelty and neglect.)

Using WagsInn Canine Charities emergency funds, we got Bud to the vet right away. Our vet thinks that Bud is probably around 17 years old — a very great age for a large dog — and, as you would expect with such a senior canine, he has some health issues, including a large tumor in his abdomen. Considering his age, we decided that we wouldn't put him through the trauma of surgery, but would keep him comfortable with meds for his stomach, a special diet, and medication to help with arthritic hips and legs. Bud soon settled in and got some rest.

Well, you should see him now! Bud has perked right up! He has a couple of senior-dog buddies that he greets with a wagging tail when they come to board, and he has a bit of pep in his step that says, "Come on, Guys, let's play!" He smiles all the time now and his tail will not stop wagging. Bud seems to be so grateful to have love and good care, and we are so glad he is spending his sunset days with us. 

If you can help us with Bud's medical and food costs, please let us know — we would be so grateful and so would Bud!

Dear darling old Bud -- home at WagsInn

Meet Josephine

Josephine is one little Southern gal who had an amazing, harrowing adventure that turned out to have a very happy ending!  

Josephine -- our Southern Belle

Josephine is a Tan/Black Catahula Hound Mix, approximately 4-5years old. A WagsInn neighbor spotted her one day lying by the side of the road. She was clearly, considerably pregnant and next to her was a puppy (from a previous litter) that sadly had not survived being hit by a car. Our neighbor knew where this poor, scared mama dog needed to be and raced her to us. We took Josephine immediately to the vet who told us she had at least 4 puppies on board and that they would be born very soon. Sure enough, that same night Josephine began to give birth, to four, then five, then six — and wasn't done until morning when she had produced 10 puppies! 

Josephine's pups -- count 'em! 10!

Normally we house a maximum of 16 rescues at WagsInn, but with Josephine's litter, our numbers grew to 26! Over the weeks of nursing, nurturing, and weaning them, Josephine was such a loving and trusting mom, letting all of us at Wags do whatever we needed to do for all her puppies and herself. She behaved like she never met a stranger, accepting every one of us as though we were her own family, never shy or defensive in protecting her pups. Of course, Josephine made her way  firmly into our hearts — she may well be the sweetest, kindest dog we have ever seen. 

As for the pups, they were adorable, and we had such a fun summer of puppy breath, puppy tummies, and puppy pandemonium! We will never know who the pups' dad was, but they looked like they might have some Lab going on in the mix. We'll also never know how Josephine ended up on a road side about to give birth — but we do know it was just in time before her story might have had a much more tragic ending.

We are happy to report that we found adoptive families for everyone in Josephine's litter of ten! And Josephine herself went to live with a family where she had been in temporary foster care — a test run prior to making it her forever home — and that family officially adopted her on December 13th. Congratulations, Josephine!

Meet Scarlet and Fern

There's more to the story! The day after we got Josephine, two female pups from her previous litter, sisters to the pup that was killed, were found in the same spot as their mom! We brought them to WagsInn as well and named them Scarlet and Fern. 

Scarlet met a dog pal that comes to board at WagsInn that she loved to play with and the dog's family took Scarlet home on our foster care program to see if she would fit in. Well, she did! They adopted her just before Christmas and Scarlet now has a wonderful new home. Her owners, their two small children, and her doggy BFF, Vinny, love Scarlet to bits. Lucky Scarlet — how could it get any better? We are so happy for her.

Scarlet's little sister, Fern, is still here at WagsInn and still hoping for a forever family. Fern is a sweet girl, a bit shy about new people and places, but gets braver with each trip to a new place and with each new experience. We are confident that the right owner will come along one day soon. Call us if you think you might be that owner! Fern would love to meet you!

Sweet Fern waiting for her forever family