Our Available Dogs

NEMO

Nemo, our honorary herder, is barely 1 year old. He is a playful, sweet, guy, full of joy. He has energy to run and play, yet knows to be calm when inside. He weighs 50 lbs. and seems to be a Siberian Husky and Shiba Inu mix. Nemo is a gentle soul who is very loving and cuddly with his people. He meets people easily, and is great with other dogs.

Our happy boy loves stuffed toys and squeaky tennis balls. The husky in him is very devoted and family oriented. He especially loves his foster Dad, He is very good at checking in to make sure he knows where his foster Dad is. Nemo is content if outside with his person/people, and he has a soft spot in the shade and a toy. For him to be calm and content like this, he will first need to work off some of his youthful energy.

He will need space to run and/or people who are active, and can give him the daily exercise he craves. Nemo spent 3-months of his very young life in a shelter kennel, and was scheduled to be euthanized at the shelter when we rescued him. He needs to catch up on learning about life and to learn some basic obedience training. He sleeps on his bed all night, and seems to be house trained.

Nemo is very even tempered when meeting new people, including children, and other dogs. He wants to sniff them and then moves on. He seems fine with calm children. He has only seen cats on walks and has wanted to chase. When greeting people he knows well, Nemo wants to joyfully jump up on them. When told no, he stays down, and is well mannered. His fosters are working on this. Nemo still needs to learn that he is no longer a small puppy, and that his loud excited barks and jumping up when playing may scare or knock down children.

Nemo still has a lot of puppy energy and tendencies. He will need active exercise at least twice a day. When he wakes up in the morning, before his walk, he is full of energy and excited for the new day. He does some puppy mouthiness, especially if he hasn’t had any exercise. If you tell him no or leave-it, he will stop. He doesn’t yet know that he is a medium-large dog, who could knock things over when doing zoomies.

After a long walk or active exercise, he will be calm for most of the day, with spikes of playful energy (zoomies, playing with toys) when going outside for potty breaks. He will become busy and energetic again by late afternoon/evening, and will need another long walk or play session.

He loves walks, and once on leash, the husky in him loves to pull, and is quite strong. However, if you stop walking, he will stop also. If Nemo sees squirrels or other small animals, he wants to chase. If another dog barks at him he will pull and bark back. Feeding him high value treats distracts and redirects his interest. His foster Dad says that Nemo is walking better on the leash and coping better with distractions. He just needs continued leash training.

Nemo has not shown any guarding behavior with his humans at all, with food or toys. He has also learned to sit before getting his food. On the first day at his foster home, one of the fosters’ dogs tried to go for a treat that was being handed to Nemo, he showed his teeth to tell her to back off.

He does have many breed traits of both Siberian Huskies and Shiba Inu’s. Nemo is very observant and extremely smart. While he is very child-like and willing to please, he has a stubborn, strong will from both breeds. He knows what he wants and will let you know what he needs.

Nemo is very curious, resourceful, and learns quickly. While he does want to please and is extremely teachable, like a 2-year old child, he will “argue” and test you during a teaching moment. He will bark and give you an angry look, over small things, such as being told he can't jump up to get his own treats. If you don’t react to him, and calmly ask him if he's done, he will eventually stop barking and come over and cuddle up to you, as if to apologize for his tantrum. Adorable. He's just a softy with a big bluff. For this reason, Nemo will need an experienced person, who has the patience, understanding and leadership to work with his strong will.

Other than barking in protest or when very excited, he is a very quiet boy. He is NOT reactive about noises and people outside.

Since both of his foster people work, Nemo spends a few hours each day alone. He will whine initially before settling down, but, if first exercised, he will be ok alone for a few hours. After a few hours, he will look for things to do, and may collect items - shoes, pieces of scrap wood, etc., bringing them back to his bed. He has not done anything destructive. However, if routinely left for too long, and he becomes frustrated, it’s possible that he could begin unwanted chewing. Still very much a puppy, if Nemo discovers a new item in his surroundings, he may mouth or teethe on it to ‘taste’ or play with it. If told no, he will stop.

Nemo is being fostered in Napa, CA. If you have questions or are interested in meeting Nemo and receiving an adoption form, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave a message at (707) 583-9583. Completing an adoption form, is the first step to meeting him.

RUFUS

Rufus (ADOPTION PENDING!) is a great dog with fabulous all-around personality. He is a super friendly, happy boy, who loves everyone, all people and dogs. As well as being very sweet and easy going, he is extremely smart. He weighs 62 lbs. and is around 2-3 years old. Our best guess is that he is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, Labrador, Black Mouth Cur mix. (Although he is not a herding dog, he was scheduled to be euthanized at the shelter, and he was a volunteer and staff favorite.)

Rufus eagerly meets new people, and warmly welcomes people he knows or has met before. He will remember if someone played with him previously, and invite them to play again. When playing with people, he can be a little mouthy, but always gentle about it. When happily with his people, he is an entertainer and a little ham. He will sing to you, do acrobatics, and loves to cuddle.

Rufus’ fosters repeatedly emphasize that he is a “very good dog” who just needs to learn a few things. He is a very curious dog and a fast learner. We believe that his original people never took the time to teach him anything or expose him to new places or experiences. Rufus is curious about all things. He runs throughout the yard, often sniffing the garden fruits and vegetables or stretching up along trees to search for interesting things.

He is also very curious about small dogs and cats and tries to meet big dogs with a wag. He walks easily on leash. When approaching another dog, he pulls a little to try and meet. if told to leave them, he usually obeys. He doesn’t react when seeing children. When he sees a rabbit running, he does get excited and want to chase. Our guess is that if the rabbit stopped, he would also.

Rufus loves all food and treats. He shows no guarding around food, prized toys or anything at all. He is very patient and fine with with people touching and examining him - ears, paws, mouth and teeth. He is also fine about getting a bath, becoming frisky and energized afterwards. He will roll and shake himself, wagging his tail, until he he feels dry.

Having a thinking brain, Rufus needs to be kept mentally occupied. He enjoys playing fetch with balls and sticks. He can also self-entertain by tossing the ball or a toy for himself and chasing it. He has picked a few round tomatoes from the plants and tried to play with them (no interest in eating them). He loves all toys, especially squeaky toys, but tires of them after a week. We got a “snuffle” mat for hiding tiny treats, to help his fosters to keep him occupied when inside. However, Rufus quickly figured out that he could get all the hidden treats by lifting and shaking the snuffle mat. Game over.

Here's a YouTube link to Rufus playing ball with himself: https://youtu.be/Ibne5BXF4_4

YouTube link to Rufus meeting another male while still at the shelter: https://youtu.be/aXWBBB9eJ-4

Rufus is a very energetic dog, who loves to romp and play. He can easily walk 10 miles a day. He is not a dog for apartment life, or to be left idle for too long. In the morning, after a 3 mile hike, breakfast and a snooze, he feels great and is energized! He will gleefully run up and down the stairs and into every room, jumping on and off beds until you tell him “off.” Rufus would do well on a farm or ranch, or a home with open space where he can run. He circles his foster’s backyard at high speed, flying over the flower beds. He can jump over a 6-foot fence. Currently, until he learns not to do this, Rufus cannot be left alone in a fenced yard. He is an escape artist if left for even a few minutes. Twice, he jumped over a 6-ft. metal fence into the open space beyond when his foster went inside for just a few minutes.

Because of his energy, athleticism, being a quick learner, and desire to play, our boy is an ideal candidate for dog sports and training to work and tire out his thinking brain.

His fosters have taught him a few basic commands (Sit, Stay, Stop, Slow, Wait, Down, Leave it). Rufus still very much needs to learn rules and boundaries. He needs a pack leader who he will look up to, and who will invest the time and effort to train and teach him what is appropriate and what isn’t.

Rufus generally obeys every command he has been taught. When he was caught starting to dig under the fence once, his foster mom told him to stop, and he hasn’t tried digging again. When first being taught certain commands that go against what he wants, he often tries to ignore you, until he realizes he cannot get away with it. When he does learns a rule, he will automatically do the right thing without being told. He learned in 2-days to sit and stay before eating, and that the word “Eat” is his signal to chow down.

Rufus is completely house trained, and will whine to tell you he needs to go out. His fosters created an ex-pen enclosure, rather than a crate, and he is now ex-pen trained. He will go in to rest when he is tired or to sleep at night.

Rufus does use his voice to let you know how he is feeling. When he wants attention or to play, he lets out a few short whines. If no one responds, his whine becomes a long dog yodel in different pitches. Finally, he will give a few barks to try and get your attention. He will also bark if he hears another dog barking.

Rufus is good on car rides. He can be fussy about getting in. Sometimes he climbs right in, and other times he will stand at the open door waiting to be lifted into the car.

In summary, Rufus has huge potential to be an ideal dog. We are seeking adopters with an active lifestyle, who can give him the daily physical and mental exercise, and attention he requires, and who has experience as a consistent pack leader, teaching a dog boundaries and rules.

Potential adopters must live within about a 2 hour drive to El Dorado Hills, CA, area, where Rufus is being fostered. If you have questions or are interested in meeting Rufus and receiving an adoption form, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave a message at (707) 583-9583. Completing an adoption form, is the first step to meeting him.

PEPPER

Pepper (ADOPTED!) is an extremely sweet, happy, senior female cattle dog, who loves to cuddle with her humans, is big on treats, balls and tummy rubs. Currently she weighs 42 lbs. Our best estimate is that she is at least 13 years old. While Pepper may be a senior, she is still a very alert, smart, attentive, thinking dog, with a lot of personality.

She is a calm, low energy dog, who is happiest when in the company of her humans. At home, Pepper mostly hangs out in a comfy spot near her person/people. She will follow her humans or the other dog move, around the house. Pepper loves meeting new people and will walk right up to them, sniff their hands and/or legs and give them kisses. She doesn't like to be left at home, and will bark when she sees her humans leave through the front door. However, when left alone, she seems to pretty much sleep until people return. She is not destructive in any way. She is definitely housebroken and knows how to use a dog door.

Pepper likes a soft place to curl up for her arthritic joints, and uses multiple dog beds around the house. Pepper usually chooses the bed that her canine foster brother likes best, she sometimes tries to climb into an easy chair. If her legs cannot launch her into the chair, she will look to someone for help. At night, she likes to sleep in a dog bed that is near her people. While a crate is always available to her, it is not her preference.

Pepper is calm and gentle when meeting and being with other dogs, and gets along nicely with the other heeler (male) in her foster home. We have not yet seen her around cats or children.

While Pepper may have a lot of miles on her, she is still very much a cattle dog who will make you smile and laugh! Pepper has figured out how to sit when she wants a treat and has a way of letting her people know when she needs to go potty. She will approach you, attempting to make eye contact, and then walk to one of the doors. If her people are too slow, this herder will give out a bark to speed it up. When she wants a snack or a meal, Pepper will gently nudge the legs of her foster people towards the kitchen, to get them there sooner.

Pepper is also a ball dog! In the first hour at her foster home, she found the toy box and searched to the bottom to pull out the tennis balls. She loves tennis balls and wants to play fetch, the way she did when she was younger. Pepper will bring a ball to her human and expect them to throw it for her. However, she is not steady on her legs, which are weak and stiff, and she often falls when just stepping up or down from a curb. She also enjoys other toys and carries them around with her. Pepper has NOT shown any food or resource guarding.

Our old girl does well on shorter walks and on the leash. She would love to go on long walks, but tends to tire. While her legs and joints cannot endure long walks or on uneven terrain, Pepper has an excellent nose, and still very much enjoys short “enrichment” walks to sniff, explore and feel like a dog. She loves food, and can smell a treat or food while walking. When she does, she will stubbornly stop and give you the heeler side eye. When Pepper first arrived, her foster mom put some chicken in the oven to make chicken and rice for her. Almost immediately, Pepper raised her nose and began searching the air for the source of that baking chicken (YouTube video link: https://youtu.be/EUm3v3WYrDY).

Pepper is generally a very quiet dog, especially when she is content and with her people. She will only bark if upset, when she thinks she is being left alone, or occasionally in the car if she is worried. Most of the time in a car she is quiet and happy to just ride along.

Pepper was found in very poor condition as a stray wandering the streets. She came with a number of existing physical ailments associated with her age and untreated medical issues from her past life. We are trying to make up for lost time on her medical issues. Besides supplements, vitamins, and enhanced nutrition for her joints and to build her strength, we have begun weekly anti-fungal and anti-bacterial shampooing for her itchy skin (which she enjoys!), are consulting with our vet for her chronic ear infections, and have an appointment to check her eyes and cataracts. Potential adopters considering Pepper, must be willing to continue the work we have begun to improve these conditions.

While Pepper has obvious cataracts, she is still able to see well enough to move around and function normally. We believe that her hearing is greatly diminished, due to untreated ear infections. Her ear canals are very narrow due to scar tissue from past infections, and may need long term care. Her poor hearing may be the reason she makes such excellent eye contact and is very observant.

In summary, Pepper is the sweetest and most wonderful companion, with a lot of life left in her! She deserves - and we are seeking - a forever home that will pamper her and give her all the best treats for the rest of her days.

If you have questions or are interested in meeting Pepper, please leave a message at (707) 583-9583, or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to request our adoption questionnaire. Completing the adoption questionnaire is the first step to meeting her.