Mad Max is his registered name - a purebred Siberian husky with one ice blue eye and one half blue/half brown eye - who just turned 11 years old. Max was purchased by a family as a pup and for eight years lived in a kennel without regular exercise, nor was the kennel regularly cleaned and sometimes the family forgot to feed him. He wasn't neutered, so he had a big desire to find a mate. When they took him out for exercise, they put him on a tie out that was within reach of a fence, and Max would try to dig under the fence. Rather than shorten the tie out, they hot wired the fence and when Max tried to go under it, he got zapped severely. Max won't allow you to touch his neck in the area of a collar. If you do, he will bite.
Of course, no one told us this when they dropped him off. Only that he hates the vet and water. After I got bit, the truth came out. He had bit the vet and only the family's youngest son could walk Max. He also had severe food aggression when we got him.
We have had Max for three years, and I can put flea preventive on him, even run a brush over him, and no longer is he food aggressive with me. We have actually taught him to "sit" on command, and use it as a gauge to see what his mood is. He is very much an alpha and he has turned on me twice when he didn't want to follow instructions. Max will live here till he dies of old age, and we have a routine and a mutual respect for each other. I make sure he gets plenty of exercise, toys to play with, food to eat, and a clean kennel. Max is losing his sight, but he knows when treat time comes along, and he will sit politely and wait till I get to his kennel, and then find the treat with his nose.
I give the dogs a small quantity of wet food every day - usually chicken flavored something every other day, beef on the other three days, and lamb and vegetables on Friday. It keeps dry food from getting purely boring, and since we have quite a few seniors, like Max, it's like feeding a few prunes at a nursing home - keeps everybody regular.
Max doesn't like lamb and veggies - he sorts through and spits out the peas and carrots.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Neither Rain Nor Snow
We were fortunate to have a break between snowstorms over the weekend, and because people could finally get around, we were able to adopt out 7 puppies of various ages, sent two older dogs out on sleepovers, and adopted out one female husky. Ahhh, empty space!!!
President's Day brought a phone call from one of the local animal controls asking if we could help --- they have had an influx of puppies, and someone brought 10 six week old pups and dropped them off, to add to the 15 they already had in foster homes. It snowed and the wind blew all day yesterday, 8 inches worth, so we waited till this afternoon to make the trip to pick up the pups. They are cuties, 5 boys, 5 girls, a little long bodied, short legs, some long hair, some short, all adorable and full of puppy energy. Maybe some long hair dachshund??? Who knows.
While we were there, we just had to look over all the dogs, and we found a 3 month old yellow lab; a beagle/cocker spaniel mix female named Lulu that is housebroken, crate trained, and just has a great personality. We also discovered a black lab mix female who sits, shakes, is housebroken, loves to play fetch, loves to ride in the car (she sat in my lap all the way home and was a perfect lady). Her name is Ida, and she is, as the song says, sweet as apple cider. (Hopefully someone reading this will be old enough to remember the song.)
The hard part - leaving behind a young border collie mix that had a wonderful personality, was housebroken, knew sit and stay. Hopefully she will find a home soon. If not, we might open up a space, and if we do, we will have to take another road trip to get her.
Meanwhile, it's going to snow some more, but that won't stop us, just slow us down.
President's Day brought a phone call from one of the local animal controls asking if we could help --- they have had an influx of puppies, and someone brought 10 six week old pups and dropped them off, to add to the 15 they already had in foster homes. It snowed and the wind blew all day yesterday, 8 inches worth, so we waited till this afternoon to make the trip to pick up the pups. They are cuties, 5 boys, 5 girls, a little long bodied, short legs, some long hair, some short, all adorable and full of puppy energy. Maybe some long hair dachshund??? Who knows.
While we were there, we just had to look over all the dogs, and we found a 3 month old yellow lab; a beagle/cocker spaniel mix female named Lulu that is housebroken, crate trained, and just has a great personality. We also discovered a black lab mix female who sits, shakes, is housebroken, loves to play fetch, loves to ride in the car (she sat in my lap all the way home and was a perfect lady). Her name is Ida, and she is, as the song says, sweet as apple cider. (Hopefully someone reading this will be old enough to remember the song.)
The hard part - leaving behind a young border collie mix that had a wonderful personality, was housebroken, knew sit and stay. Hopefully she will find a home soon. If not, we might open up a space, and if we do, we will have to take another road trip to get her.
Meanwhile, it's going to snow some more, but that won't stop us, just slow us down.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Seniors Who Serve
Papa Smurf and Bella Sue, aka Lilly Sue, were given up and dumped by their owners because of their age, health problems, lack of finances, or who knows what reason. See "Our Angels" blog dated 12/24/09, and "Scruffy Shih Tzus & More" dated 9/20/09.
But there was a plan for their lives. Pops and Lilly Sue have found a new job - helping abused children. Children, like dogs, should not be abused, starved, without shelter, without affection.
Next time someone goes to a rescue to adopt, they might want to think about how a senior might fit into their life. Sure, there are possible medical problems and expenses, and the fact that they might not be with us for more than a few months or a few years, but they have so much to give.
But there was a plan for their lives. Pops and Lilly Sue have found a new job - helping abused children. Children, like dogs, should not be abused, starved, without shelter, without affection.
Next time someone goes to a rescue to adopt, they might want to think about how a senior might fit into their life. Sure, there are possible medical problems and expenses, and the fact that they might not be with us for more than a few months or a few years, but they have so much to give.
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