Noodle the Caribou in Atlanta

Admit it: when you saw the photo of Noodle, you thought, “Huh? What’s that????” I know that’s what I thought! I mean, white speckled body, sable face, fawn ears. Oh, and did I mention webbed feet???? Now, I’ve been doing breed identification for a long time, and quite honestly, I’m pretty good at it, but this girl??? So this is what I think: she is probably a mix of several breeds, but her face shape, eyes and ears speak of Shetland Sheepdog. Her body coat, slightly elevated tail and webbed tail call to English Springer Spaniel. But I really hope that whoever adopts this girl does a DNA test, because I bet we’ll be surprised!

Noodle was rescued by Khaz. Let me share with you her story:

Noodle was pulled from Barrow County Animal Services in Winder, Georgia on January 18th. She was supposed to have been put down on the 11th of January, but was held over due to a snowstorm that hit Georgia and subsequently shut down the state that very week. I (Khaz) had seen this puppy on petfinder some weeks before her original slated date for euthanasia, but was afraid I had missed the deadline to grab her. Much to my surprise, her petfinder add was still up, depsite it being well past January 11th. I immediately emailed Barrow County Animal Services to ask if she was still alive, and she was! Despite sending numerous back-to-back emails over the course of five day to the shelter, the only response I recieved to my inquiry was to the very first email. It was then brought to my attention that her last day at Barrow County was Tuesday the 18th at 5pm. I had contacted the shelter on Friday, the 15th. This particular shelter is closed Weekends, Wednesdays and all holidays, and being the weekend of Martin Luther King Day, Tuesday was do or die for this gal. With some creative pleas and the concept that Kennesaw Georgia is farther away from Winder than it actually is–I was able to avoid the three-day adoption process and sucessfully pull this pup at 3:30pm, Tuesday, the 18th, two hours before she was slated on the PTS list. She was sent to the Vet the following Thursday for her spay, and first round of puppy shots where I was then able to pick her up Friday morning and bring her home.

So what do we actually know about Noodle? Well, she was born around October/November. She currently weighs 18 pounds, but she is quite thin. She is being fostered in Kennesaw, Georgia. I love what Khaz’ boyfriend Steve has to say about Noodle: “She’s spunky, energetic, and just a wee bit quirky, just like her name. She’s also answering to it pretty darn well, especially for being out of jail for just 3 days! Noodle is a perfectly normal, happy puppy, and will complete a family real soon!“

Quick! Someone adopt Noodle before Khaz and Steve fall too much in love with her! You can see more photos on her photo album. If you think that she might be the dog for you, please review our adoption process and then e-mail me at holly.thedogliberator@gmail.com.

January 27th Update:

At three months, this dog acts like she’s full grown. She has THE most easy going personality I have ever come across, outside of my own aussie/rottie mix. There is literally nothing that she doesn’t love, or that she isn’t curious about! She learns at the drop of a dime, too. She’s been with me five days so far, and already she goes to stand at the back door with the other dogs when she needs to be let out. She definitely wasn’t potty trained when we first got her, so I have a feeling she picked up on the “routine” from the other dogs. The cat and her are best friends. I have a HUGE twelve year old, ornery Siamese, who prior to Noodle hated the world. If she can befriend my cat, this dog will have no trouble making friends with anyone and everything she meets. She’s not food aggressive, nor does she chew on things, despite the fact she’s cutting teeth. She loves going on long walks, but I don’t think the thought even crosses her mind to bolt, or stray away. She walks on a leash like a pro! So as far as me being comfortable with her, my answer is ABSOLUTELY. This dog is my opinion of the perfect package. She is quirky, intelligent, friendly, and a total lovebug. She’d be great for an active family, or she’d be great with a family of children, other dogs, cats…anything! There’s no doubt in my mind she could acclimate herself to any environment she is placed in. I had prepared to have nights of puppy nightmares when I brought her home, and instead I’ve got an old soul of a dog trapped in a goofy little body. She’s the perfect candidate for any family. I haven’t seen a single vice in this dog yet.

She is losing baby teeth, yes, but she still has her baby canines. The adult teeth that are coming in are barely breaking the gumline, so if she is four months, I’d say just barely. Her weight is a concern to me, though. She is taller than I originally thought, and though she does need to gain a good bit of weight, I do not think she’s going to be a very heavy dog. Tall? Yes, but she is very light-boned. She’s on a high-fat high-protein puppy diet right now and I can already tell a small difference. I never realized how thin she was until I brought her home and actually felt her. Basically every bone in her body can be felt through her skin, and there’s minimal muscle mass, so 18lbs is a bare minimum weight for her.

~ Khaz

January 29 Update:

She is learning how to play! It was so sad to me bringing her home and seeing that she hadn’t the slightest idea on what a ball was, and had shown zero interest in nyla bones, chewies, or stuffed animals. She would just stare at the toy as it lay at her feet, then a few seconds later dejectedly walk away. But now she is finding her inner puppy again! She does the most magnificent playbow at the sight of my other dog’s stuffed turtle, and though she still hasn’t figured out the total purpose of the toy–I view this a positive step forward. Though she hasn’t picked up on carrying the toys around like the other dogs, I did catch her trotting around the house with her food bowl in tow. She obviously must be learning something! 😉

Her response to her name and the basic “sit” “back” and “drop it” commands are coming along swimmingly. She responds to her name a good 80% of the time by dropping whatever task she is and plodding over to come stand at my heels. If she doesn’t come, she lifts her head and looks dead at me, so I know there’s some cognitive recognition going on in that funky little head of hers. Crate training too, is making some grand strides. She still doesn’t favor her crate, but she tolerates it, and no longer whines profusely once placed inside.She may give a few perfunctory yaps at most, and then contents herself to sleep. We’re working hard to show her the crate is not the lonely place she used to live, with each day she’s making improvements.

~ Kahz

February 1 Update:

Everyone that has ever owned a puppy knows the sudden gut-clenching feeling that follows the discovery of your un-housebroken puppy loose loose and waiting for you at the door after a long toiling day at work. You know, the deep and sudden dread you get when the realization falls upon you that not only is this puppy out right -now-, but that more than likely…it’s been out of it’s crate since the moment you left the house.

More pictures are on their way, if only I could get her to stay still long enough. 😉

Adoption Update 02/18/11:

Hi Gisele and Khaz/Kayla,

We rescued our new baby on Valentines day and couldn’t be happier! We are in love with her and she is the delight of my days. As I am writing you, she is curled up next to me on the couch;-)

My husband and I picked her up from Jesse Monday late afternoon on Valentines day and she is Truely a sweetheart/Valentine:-) She curled up in my lap immediately. I was already in love with her when I layed eyes on her picture, but that just sealed the deal! We named her Bella after our sweet Dalmation we lost 2 weeks ago, Cindy Bella TimTam. We traveled with her sleeping in my lap the whole way to my dads house where we showed her off. Bella played with 3 dogs and then slept in her crate in our room with out a peep from her all night. Tuesday we traveled 8 hours in the car home to Atl. and she was an absolute angel. She has been celebrated by our whole family as we have had meets with them the last few days:-) I took Bella to a beautiful dog park in Roswell that I found out about so she could play with lots of dogs and she loved it for a while, then got fixated on the gate as the dogs would leave. It broke my heart:-( Then she and I went walking on the beautiful trails in the woods. She also had her first visit to meet her new vet and they loved her of course! Yesterday Bella and I went for a walk/run and I soon found out that we need to stay on quiet roads because she gets frightened when a car goes by, so after I quickly got back on a quiet road, our walk was very nice. We also went to my sisters today for a doggie play date with her Australian Shepherd named Sozo. She is still learning to play with toys as we went to pet smart and picked a few up along with some treats and chewies that she is enjoying. Bella is also doing very well at winning our stand offish Ragdoll kitty’s heart. Skylar misses her Dalmation sister who was her best friend!!! Bella is my little Angel and I am so thankful that she was saved for me

Khaz, we would love to meet you so you can see her again and she can see you. I’m sure you miss her and I thank you so much for rescuing this precious girl:-) She is a gift!

Here are some pics taken on my phone on Valentines day and the drive home.

Thanks again and we’ll stay in touch,

~Debbie