3 Days down...27 to go.

We had a long weekend here.  I picked Bindi up from the vet Friday afternoon.  She was very happy to see me, but clearly in extreme pain.  The first 24 hours were awful for her, and awful to watch.  She hurt so badly that she was quivering all over.  She barely even moved.  She was absolutely pathetic.  By Sunday, thankfully, she was feeling so much better.  The hard part now is keeping her calm (as I mentioned before, she is NOT a calm puppy!) and cool (it was 109 degrees out yesterday!).   To make things more difficult, she needs to be on steroids.  They not only make her the total opposite of calm, but also make her have to pee constantly, which means going out into the extreme heat more often.  Ironic. Thanks Doc. 

She is exhausting me (I should say this process is exhausting me, not her).  She is literally leashed to one of us every minute of the day.  She wants so badly to play that if she gets away from us, she will sprint into action.  Overnight, I have to get up with her at least twice to take her outside to pee and then I'm up by 5:30 a.m. for yet another pee, breakfast (the steroids also increase her appetite big time), and morning meds. 

Last night, on top of it, she coughed a lot.  That completely freaked me out, making it nearly impossible  to sleep.  I kept worrying that she was going to have a heart attack and die on me! Because of the coughing, and my paranoia, I'm taking her in to the doctor this afternoon so he can check her out.  I want to cover all of my bases.

The worst part is that we can do every single thing right, take absolutely no chances, and she can still die at any second.  Somebody needs to come up with a more modern way to treat heart worm.  This is brutal. 

The moral of the story is... Pay the $7.00 per month to get your dog heart worm prevention!  You do not want to go through this shit.  Not to mention, the treatment varies in price from $1,000 to $2,000 dollars! 

Settling in.

Bindi settled in nicely over the week.  She does much better through the nights, now that she is sleeping on the dog bed in our room instead of in a crate.  She just has some major insecurity issues, which leads to separation anxiety.  She is a very smart girl, and is eager to please.  I taught her "sit" and "down" in one afternoon.  She is also very sweet and although shy, she seems to like everyone she meets- even the cats.   

Most of her progress, however, is because of what she has absorbed from Dixie and Jax.  I can train her.  I can assure her that not every person has a heavy hand or a loud voice.  However, only those two can show her how to relax, have fun, and just be a dog.  They are, without a doubt, an integral part of the program.  I know that fostering takes it's toll on them, especially when the dogs that they grow to love and become attached to leave our home.  I ask a lot of them in this respect and they never disappoint me.  Dixie is especially sensitive to every new dog's specific problems or needs.  She seems to know within the first minute how to approach each one.  Bindi was extremely afraid of them at first, causing her to act out, not in aggression, but in fear.  Dixie was so gentle.  Over the first couple of days, she approached Bindi frequently, putting a paw on her back or head, trying to encourage interaction.  Bindi responded by growling or snapping at her.  Dixie was undeterred.  She simply backed off and tried again later, never giving up.  As you will see by the pictures below, her technique worked like a charm. 

At the office.

New friends.

Can you believe how tiny she is?  She is a mini-boxer!

Dixie being a good mom:-)

Tomorrow morning, I will drop her off at the vet's office, where she will be administered her treatment over 24 hours.  The next 14 days are the most critical of her life.  I would be a liar if I said I wasn't a little freaked out. 

B.S.

Okay, so my new foster dog is crazy.  Cute as a button, but absolutely nuts.  After less than 30 hours with her, I have experienced a frustration level higher than I have with any other foster dog yet.  She is certainly not to blame, so I try to hide the frustration from her as best I can.  She is just a victim, having only lived the life of a "breeding dog."  She has absolutely no idea how to act in a home setting.

Her name is Bindi Sue (B.S).  I assume that she is named after Bindi Sue Erwin, daughter of the late, great "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Erwin. 

Here is what I know about her background.  She is 15 months old.  She is from southeastern Louisiana.  She was owned by a breeder who, although she is extremely tiny for her breed (only 35lbs and not even very underweight), decided to breed her.  Thinking that it "didn't take" because of her size, the breeder decided that she was no longer a commodity and dumped her at the shelter.  In actuality, she was pregnant.  She miscarried in the shelter.  When a dog miscarries, an x-ray should be done, to make sure that all of the pups were delivered.  Needless to say, that did not happen and she had dead puppies inside of her for weeks.  She is very lucky that she didn't die from becoming septic.  They finally spayed her and removed what was left of the bodies from inside of her.  All of that time, our rescue was trying to arrange transport to spring her from that shelter.  Once we got her, she was taken to the vet immediately.  She tested positive for about every intestinal parasite in the book, as well as heart worm.  She was temporarily placed in boarding.

Ironically, she was not the dog that I was suppose to pick up at the picnic last weekend.  They contacted me and said that they had a more "challenging" dog and they wanted to switch foster and dog match ups.  Of course I said it was fine.  I assumed she would be a medical challenge, or a severely fearful case, like Callie was.  I can handle those dogs.  Nope.  She is a behavioral challenge. 

Last night, she kept me up all night whining and crying.  That is pretty normal and I expected it.  She was in a new place and was clearly nervous.  I got up with her several times during the night to let her out.  Her anti parasitic medications are causing her to have diarrhea.  Again, I can deal.  What I can't deal with is how she leaps all over me, scratching me with her cat-like sharp nails.  She runs in circles around me and jumps into the air and I can not catch her.  It may sound funny.  Let me tell you...at 3am, it's not.   

This morning, after adequate outside time with the others, I put her in the crate in our master bathroom. I left for work.   I had a meeting with a potential client about an hour away.  On my way back to work, I stopped home to let her out to potty.  I worried that she may have had an accident in her crate.  Instead, I found that she had destroyed the wire crate (the crate that is meant to hold dogs up to three times her size!) and got out.  She was then loose in my bedroom.  She made an absolute mess, including pulling everything off my vanity, jewelry and all.  It was a disaster area.  I was shocked at the situation.  I am  very lucky she didn't kill herself trying to escape from that crate. 

This dog needs some serious training.  However, the dilemma is this... Next week, she starts heart worm treatment.  During the very dangerous heart worm treatment, she needs to stay completely calm (huh?) for 30 days.  Her heart rate can not be elevated.  That means, no heat, no play, no anxiety, no training.  Leash on at every minute.  Now, I have crate trained dogs pretty quickly in the past, but I have never had one so determined to get out that she would physically harm herself trying.   The crate clearly causes great stress and I can't take that chance.  Crate training will not be an option in the time we have.  So, it seems that once she starts treatment, she will have to be with me 24 hours a day.  I imagine this will put a crimp in my (luckily almost non-existent) social life;-)

There is one more unique aspect of this particular foster.  She already has an approved adopter and a forever home awaits her.  She is with us only to get through the very risky heart worm treatment and get healthy.  Basically,  another person's very sick dog's life is in my hands.  No pressure there.

Pictures to follow. 

2011 Fundraiser Picnic

The fundraiser picnic was a really good time (minus the sweat).  It was fun meeting so many of the dogs that I only "know" via the website.  Our neighbor, Leslie, and her dog Bliss (you saw her in the previous post) went with us.  It's always great getting a bunch of dog people together.  It's great giving and getting advice to and from other rescuers and encouraging potential adopters.  Jax has matured into a very well behaved young man and comments were made by all.  He wore his "I'M DEAF" collar cover, which he always wears when we go out in public.  Besides it being a safety measure for him, people are always curious and it encourages them to ask questions.  That gives me the opportunity to advocate for special needs dogs, like him, that are so often discarded.  He is a wonderful example of why that common practice is ridiculous. 

Actually, I learned about a chapter in Jax's life that I had never known before.  You may remember that when we first got him, the rescue had taken him from a guy who had just found out that he was deaf and was planning to shoot him.  I now know that he was acquired by that man from another family in exchange for a tank of gas!  Can you believe that?  They had run out of gas and traded their dog for a fill up.  I suppose they thought that they were getting a good deal.  After all, what value does a deaf dog have?  It's no wonder why he was such a mess.  He was treated like an disposable object. 

We didn't get our new foster dog as planned.  She came down with kennel cough a couple of days before.  She should be just fine, but it's quite contagious to other dogs.  Of course she couldn't come to the fundraiser and pass the illness around to everyone.  Probably not a good way to promote the rescue.  

Silly me.   Although I made a point to pack my camera, I left it in the car the entire time.  I have no pictures to share from our day.


Just a small disclaimer...

(A few people have asked about this) You will notice that I never actually use the names of the rescue/rescuers that I am involved with.  This is because although I do represent them in public, I do not speak for them in this blog.  These are merely my personal thoughts and experiences.  As an admittedly opinionated person, I rarely filter myself when it comes to something that I am this passionate about.  I know that my words may offend some people.  For that reason, I never want this blog to be connected to the rescue.   If, however, you are looking for a dog, or are just curious, I would be more than happy to give you the name and website of our rescue in a private message!  Just leave me a comment!

Long time coming!

I should have posted several times by now!  I am a terrible blogger.  We have just had so much going on lately.

I'll start with the biggest news, though many of you have already heard.  Lincoln got adopted last week!  He went to an absolutely wonderful home and joins 2 boxer brothers, ages 13years and 4 years.   I know he will be spoiled there for the rest of his life. I have already had emails from his new "mom" thanking me and letting me know how much they already love him.

His adoption happened very quickly.  We were just 3 days away from leaving for vacation when I got the news that someone was interested.  She had been pre-approved and home checked already.  She came to my office to meet him and asked if she could take him home for the day to meet her other dogs.  With the upcoming vacation, I knew we needed to either act quickly or wait, so I let him go with her.  Knowing Lincoln the way I did, I had no doubt that she would fall in love.  Sure enough.  I got the call asking if she could keep him.  This time, I had to say "no."  Not yet, anyway.  I had become extremely attached to Linc and needed one last night with him.  I needed to say good bye.  She completely understood and returned him to me that afternoon, which was probably a very good thing.  That night, he had a severe allergic reaction to something and I was up all night with him.  He had huge hives and welts all over his body and his face was so swollen he looked like a sharpei!  Luckily, I had some steroids in my drug cabinet.  I needed to monitor him very closely to make sure the swelling didn't move into his mouth or throat and disrupt his breathing.  He slept next to me in bed, with his head on my stomach, as though he had been doing that every single night of his life.  We technically have a "no dogs in bed" rule, so Jonathon joked that Lincoln planned it that way.  By morning, all symptoms were gone. 

I was very hard for me to let him go.  There was just something about that dog.  He totally captured my heart.  He fit in perfectly with our pack.  He was an absolute goof ball, always full of energy and ready to play.  Jonathon and I had said many times over the months that if we could have another (permanent) dog, it would be him.  The only thing keeping me focused was knowing that there was another dog out there waiting for my help.  I cried when he left, more than a little.  I have a feeling, however, that our paths will cross again in the future.

Here are some pictures from the first month or so of our summer...

Check out that beautiful, shiny coat!

Lincoln shares Jax's love of the sprinklers!

They would do this all day if I let them!

This cute little girl is Bliss. She lives next door. Her and Lincoln were the best of pals!

 

"Under the Table and Dreaming"    

        

Such a sweetheart.  He sure loved to snuggle!

We have our fundraiser picnic this Saturday.  We will go with one dog (after last year's fiasco, we realized that crowds are not Dixie's thing and she will sit this one out!) and come home with two.  Our next foster will be meeting us there.  And then it begins again. 

Crazy weather. Crazy busy. Crazy dogs.

I know it has been forever since my last post.  I have just been so busy lately that whenever I do have any time, I don't feel like spending it at the computer.  This spring has seemed abnormally crazy with work, not to mention the storms that have blown through our area in the past month.  Our yard and pool are finally clear of debris and the roof will hopefully be replaced soon.  We are are also finally over the hump of the busy season at work.  I am anxious to have more free time, much of it will be spent on the dogs, I'm sure.  I have been feeling guilty lately because they also suffer when we are so busy at work.   Fewer walks and more time in crates means tons of pent up energy!   But, no jobs = no dog food!  For some reason, I can't get that through to them;-)

Lincoln got neutered yesterday and is quite swollen today.  Poor boy.   Even so, the hardest part will be convincing him to be calm and relax for the next few days.  Relaxing isn't really his thing.  His mange is all but gone and he is looking good.  No more bare areas.  He just has some patches of old fur to shed out and he will be perfect.  I have discovered that he has absolutely no leash skills.  He is one strong dog and I can honestly say that I can barely handle him on the leash. He just has no clue.  I am committed to training him, though.  We just need to stick with short walks, otherwise he exhausts me!

Dixie and Jax are both doing well too.  Jax is happy that it's sprinkler season again and has been enjoying playing in the water.  He hauls the hose all over the yard in his mouth.  He also runs through the sprinklers and splashes in the mud, just like a little kid.  He will do it over and over and over.  It's absolutely hilarious!   Dixie, on the other hand, wouldn't even think about getting one drop of water on her and has been known to hold her potty for days if it's rainy. 

 

Happiness is a foster dog.

Lincoln is doing absolutely wonderfully!  His medication is clearly working because he has a ton of new hair growth, especially on his front legs, chest and face. He is also steadily gaining weight, mostly muscle.  He is getting more handsome every day.  He rarely ever itches anymore, and his skin is no longer on fire. He seems to feel great.

As I suspected, he and Jax are two of a kind.  Now that Lincoln is strong, they play non stop, for hours on end.  Inside, outside, it doesn't matter.  They chase and wrestle until they collapse into a tired heap of dog.  They act like brothers, always wanting what the other has.  We have a basket full of toys, most of which got completely ignored until toy-deprived Lincoln arrived, in total awe.  He loves each and every toy.  Suddenly, every single one of them is Jax's favorite too.  I think Dixie is enjoying Jax being occupied by another.  She participates in the games when she feels like it, but can easily slip away from the action to sleep or hunt, both of which she prefers over playing.

I'm taking him in for a recheck in about 10 days.  At that time, I am hoping that he is deemed well enough to be neutered.  He sure seems it.  After that, I see no reason why he won't be ready to be listed as "adoptable."

If anyone is looking for the world's friendliest canine companion, who loves to snuggle and give kisses, let me know!  I have just the boy for you!

Here are some new pictures.  See all of the new fuzz on his formerly naked legs?  Yay!