October 25, 2009
Flicka has come by leaps and bounds this past week! She is actively playing, probably for the first time in her serious, survival-focused life. She likes the resident dog, and plays hard with her. She is being slowly introduced to cats, and is doing very well thus far. She is taking treats from her foster mother's hand, and plays tug-a-war with a stuffie!
September 6, 2009
Update, September 21, 2009- Flicka has come along well over the past couple of weeks. She has been spayed, and is learning to trust her foster mother. She is still extremely scared, but never shows any aggression at all. She is an absolutely beautiful girl. We estimate that she is 14 to 18 months old.
September 6, 2008- Flicka has been known to our volunteers this summer since we picked up the Seven Dwarfs litter, and later their mother Shaya to spay (for free for her owners on the Sunchild Reserve). However, Flicka has been very, very shy, and we were unsuccessful in our attempts to touch her.
When we returned Shaya after her spay, we noted that Flicka had a lot of male attention, and was in heat. We were very worried that she would end up having feral puppies in the woods. She not only would not let us touch her, but even those who fed her could not. She was simply too scared to allow herself to be touched, though she would take treats from our outstretched hands.
People in the area tell us that Flicka is approximately 18 months old, and has had one litter of puppies. (We spayed her daughter, Brownie, from this litter just this past week!)
Flicka and all the other dogs in the area had sarcoptic mange when we found them. We had a lot of trouble treating the mange, as so many of the dogs would not allow us to get near. We finally managed to soak dog biscuits with the medication necessary to treat them, and they ate it since they were so hungry (despite its awful flavour). But at least the horrible, itchy mites were gone.
We brought out a live trap in order to catch Flicka; unfortunately, she was not in her yard the last few weeks we visited. The last trip out, Sunday, Sept 5th, we were thrilled to see Flicka on the road. We were not thrilled that it was during a thunderstorm, but one of our volunteers set up the live trap for her anyways!
We dropped off Brownie (her skittish daughter from her previous litter) to her home, as we spayed her for free for her owners this week, and returned to check our trap. We had Miss Flicka!! A terrified, wet Flicka, who screamed when she was first approached.
Flicka was covered to protect her from the wind and rain, and loaded for the return home to Red Deer. She will be visiting the vet this week for an examination. We will find out if she is pregnant at this time.
Flicka is now living in a comfy run. She allows herself to be touched without aggression, but she has no where to run. We suspect that she was handled as a puppy, but was abandonded when she got older. People have been mean to her to drive her away.
Flicka when she arrived.
If you would like to apply to adopt Flicka, please Click here for our adoption procedure, fees and on-line adoption form. The adoption form is at the bottom of this page. Filling this out is the first step in the adoption process. Please note: your application will be responded to within three to five days. We have no paid staff; all of Paws and Claws are volunteers, who work full time, with families and pets of their own. We will respond as soon as possible. Please, be patient with us.
Frequently asked Adoption Questions
For any other questions please email adoptions@pawsandclawsanimalrescue.ca