Introducing Calista.

Our new foster baby arrives today.  Her name is Calista.  She was taken from a "breeder," along with 11 other small dogs when the "breeder" could no longer care for them.  Although it appears to me as though she never did.  Her rescuer, ironically, is originally from Forest Lake, MN!  She runs a shelter up in a small town called Leslie, about two hours north of Little Rock.  Her and I talked only briefly on the phone this morning, but I could tell that if we lived closer together, we would be fast friends.  Like me, she was initially shocked, and now just angry at how dire the situation is for so many animals in this state.  She tries her best not to adopt any dogs out within AR and works with other rescuers in MN to try and get the dogs to a State where people have a better understanding of how to properly take care of their pets.  She and I are meeting today at noon. 

I am told that Calista has gained 10 pounds since she was surrendered, but she is still very weak.  She also appears to have had some head trauma in her recent past.  God only knows how that happened.  She has severe food aggression toward the other dogs (no surprise there) but other than that, is a friendly girl.  I'm anxious to meet her!

Inspiring story

I wish I could make a difference like she is.  Whether the law passes or not, she is getting a clear message out to the law makers and making thousands of people aware of a major problem.  Good for her! 

Here is the link...

http://www.tonic.com/article/chained-to-doghouse-on-steps-of-state-capital-to-save-abused-dogs/

Long Road Home.

On Saturday morning, long before sunrise, we were awake and getting Laila ready for the long trip to her new and final home.  At about the same time, John and Mary were getting ready to leave Minneapolis to meet us half way, in Kansas City.  After some early morning play time with Dixie and Jax, we loaded up, coffees in hand, and headed North.  It rained hard for quite a while, through most of Arkansas.  (I thought it was kind of weird because it was also raining really hard when we first picked her up from the shelter back in July.)  The rain slowed us down a bit, but Laila slept soundly from the minute we pulled out of the driveway. 

We got to Kansas city shortly after noon and the weather there was awesome.  We met at a beautiful park, and actually both pulled in at exactly the same time.  Re-introductions went perfectly.  Although their initial time together last month was brief, I could tell that Laila remembered them both right away.  We talked for a while as Laila got showered with affection...and presents!  Then John and Jonathon went to get lunch...BBQ of course, it was KC!  Mary, Laila and I found a nice spot in the shade to hang out while we waited.  Lunch was soooo good.  With great weather and great company, I would have stayed all day, but we had other dogs to get home to, so we had to get on the road. 

I can't actually say that it was a bitter-sweet good bye.  There really wasn't a bitter part.  Of course, I shed a few tears, as she has been my constant companion (I called her my shadow) for the last 2 months, but I couldn't be happier about how this whole thing turned out.   Some people even seem to think that I had it planned the entire time...

 

Here are some pictures from her big day

Group hug!

Saying good bye.

 

 

Modeling her new coat for those MN winters!

First Family Photo!

It has been a long road for Laila to get to where she deserves to be in life...HOME.

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Do you remember?

Last night, Jax awoke from his snooze suddenly, as he ususally does being deaf.  But this time he was breathing heavily and had this extremely sad and confused look on his face.  He sleepily stumbled directly over to me, climbed up onto the couch and burried his head in my chest.  He just looked pathetic.  I held him tightly and he calmed down and went back to sleep pretty quickly, right there on my lap.  I wonder.  Did he dream of his "other" life?  90 percent of the time, he seems to live in the moment and is the happiest boy in the world.  But every now and then, he does something that makes me want to ask him if he remembers his past. All of the "experts" have different theories on whether or not dogs have the mental capacity for long-term memory, and how long it lasts.  It's one more thing we'll never know for sure I guess, but I'll always wonder. 

This was a less extreme version of the night terrors that he had for at least the first week that we fostered him.  He used to wake up, trembling so hard that I first thought he was actually having a seizure!  These panic attacks lasted several minutes, sometimes nearly a half an hour.  I would wrap him up tightly into a blanket and sit with him until he came back.  I say that, because it really seemed as though he was somewhere else and that there was nothing that could comfort him.  As he began to trust us, the nightly episodes stopped for the most part and the ones that he has now are nothing in comparison.  It makes me sad to think about his old life and that he may still have some of those bad memories haunting him in his sleep.  At least now, he seeks out comfort in us and all he seems to need to recover is a nice long hug from mom. 

New tail. New name. New beginning.

It has been a very busy couple of weeks here, which is the reason for the lack of updates.  We were lucky enough to have so many of my favorite people visit over the last two weeks!  For most, it was their first time meeting Jax and it was every one's first time meeting Emily!  I admit that I was a little nervous about how they would do with so many new people.  Turns out, I was worried for nothing.  Both dogs made new friends.  Of course, Dixie enjoyed the company too, as always!  I was very pleased with the way that my recently fearful dogs not only accepted, but thoroughly enjoyed all of our house guests.  I was a proud mom/ foster mom.

Anyway, Emily is doing wonderfully.  Her surgeries (yes, she had two!) went well and she is nearly fully recovered.  She was spayed with no complications.  The tail-tip amputation that was suppose to be done to remove the large hard ball of scar tissue on the end of her tail turned into a full amputation.  She now has a boxer-length cropped tail.  This was not done for cosmetic reasons.  I was actually fond of her long tail.  It was to ensure that the suture site would be able to heal without re-injury caused by either banging it against things, or, (and more likely) her chewing on it.  Unfortunately, recovery from that surgery was painful, but she is feeling much better now.  Her new tail is still hairless and pretty funny looking, but we are hoping that it will look better when the fur grows back.

Now the exciting news... Emily is no longer Emily.  Her new name is Laila.  Why the name change?  Well,  you can't have two Emily's in the same family...now that she is a permanent member!

No. No. No. We are not second time foster failures!  She has really thrived in our home, but she is ready for a home of her own- her forever home.  I am so happy to announce that Laila will be moving to Minnesota!  The Beerling family visited us last week and fell in love with her.  They are adopting her!  I can not think of a better place for her.  She is sure to be loved and spoiled for the rest of her life.  I'm so relieved that they are also willing to take on her heart worm treatment.  I know she will have the support that she needs and the quiet resting place that is so critical during that time.  This dog deserves a wonderful family, and they deserve a wonderful dog.

We are planning Laila's move for mid-September.

Peace has been restored!

After a stressful period of baby gate separations and pack walks, Emily has decided that our dogs mean no harm and are no threat to her. She wasn't aggressive, only scared.  Her growling from behind the fence slowly turned to just cautious curiosity.  She would watch as Dixie and Jax chased and wrestled and I guess she thought it looked like fun.  She soon began wagging her tail and whimpering, as if to tell us "I'm not sure what they are doing...but I think I should be doing it too!"   After a couple of successful one-on-one off leash play times with Dixie and Jax individually, all three got together and it went very smoothly.  Now they are a pack, and my house is paying the price!  Don't get me wrong, keeping three big dogs apart was not easy, and I'm glad that it's over.  But now they are like a tornado!  All three are very rough, very vocal, players.  It's hilarious.  I just wish the hot weather would ease up so that they could safely take their games outside!

Unfortunately, the gates can't come down completely yet.  Emily's play times have to be limited.   Because she is heart worm positive, her poor heart is working much harder than it should have to.  Our dogs could play all day, and Emily can't resist joining in the fun (what a change!).  I feel awful separating them now, because I know she doesn't understand why I am keeping her from her new friends.  She stares at me with her big brown eyes and you can see in the picture below that she has the sad look down!   It's for her own good though so I stand my ground.  She will begin her treatment the first week in October.  Six weeks later, I am hoping for a completely healthy dog.  Emily obviously has an incredible will to live.  I am confident that she will make it through this risky treatment.  The hardest part will be the doggy "bed rest".  She has to stay calm throughout.  Only leash walking, and very limited at that.  In our house, that will be a challenge.  She will have to be left behind when we do our fall hiking and there will be absolutely no playing.  Ideally, she will have her forever home by then.  People are, however, very hesitant  to adopt a dog with heart worm because of the uncertainty, so I'm not holding my breath.  If someone were willing to undergo the process with Emily, they would get a lifetime of loyalty and love from her in return. 

Next week Emily will be spayed.  Going under anesthesia with a heart condition definitely makes the surgery a bit more risky than normal.   I'm a little bit nervous about it, but the vets think that because of her young age she should make it through just fine.  I hope they are right.

Last Chance Highway

There is a new show on Animal Planet called Last Chance Highway.  I watch pretty much all of the rescue shows on animal planet, but this one particularly interests me because it is filmed very close to home.  It is about a group of people working together who live around the Memphis area.  They rescue animals from Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas, where tens of thousands of animals are killed each year, and transport them up north where animals are more protected by the laws and people are more responsible pet owners.  They go to available rescues, or directly to new homes.  Little Rock is one of their biggest pick-ups.  I have personally had two of my foster pups go on this venture (Little Willie and Little Johnny).  The show typically follows a couple different dogs from initial contact to new home.  At the end of each show, they film the truck delivering the animals to different cities, after traveling over 1000 miles. (They make that drive every single week, by the way, each time carrying over 100 dogs.)  The parking lots are filled with families waiting for their new dogs.  They all cheer when the truck pulls in.  The are so happy and excited when the dogs are carried off the truck and handed over to them.  I cry every time.  It's awesome to see. 

Anyway, the show really inspires me.  Check it out if you like the reality TV scene!