Dayzee & Mason

Dayzee is a petite Manchester terrier mix with a wavy black coat and shiny copper brown legs and a topknot that we got from a local kill shelter. We knew of someone who wanted a small terrier with some spit, so we immediately contacted the lady, and she came out to meet her.

This woman had adopted a border terrier mix from us a couple of months earlier. Mason had been bitten by another dog when we got him, so when he developed a couple of "hot spots" no one thought too much about it. The vet treated him and he was healing nicely when she took him home. Unfortunately, the infection proved to be puppy strangles. It is rare, and it cost him his life.

Anyway, Dayzee got spayed and went home with her. A couple of nights later, upon returning home from work, she noticed her right eye looked "funny" in the dim light and took her to her vet. Dayzee had a juvenile cataract in her eye, and a blip on the left. The veterinarian gave her a grim prognosis - she would be totally blind in a year. She called me from the vet's office, and said she was bringing her back immediately.

I accepted her and apologized, explaining that our rescue does not have enough available funding to take every new rescue in for an examination immediately after intake. The woman told me she just couldn't afford it and would be in touch.

So, I scheduled a visit to our veterinarian and found the same diagnosis, but with one difference. He said that her other eye had a blip but was not crystallizing, and might never do so. Time would tell. In the meantime, she could see light only in the right eye, and surgery would fix it permanently. The cost would be around $3200. The rescue couldn't afford that, but decided to put her up for adoption with a special needs tag, and in the meantime try to raise money for the surgery.

Dayzee went to an on-site adoption last week, and a family came through and fell in love with her, and could care less if she is blind in one eye. They said they would deal with her vision problems and wondered if she would like riding in a pontoon boat. Dayzee hit the jackpot!

On the Lighter Side

We have 42 dogs on the premises today, and since it is our wedding anniversary, my husband of 31 years is helping me with kennels so we can get done a bit earlier than usual and go out to dinner. Going out to eat, even fast food, is a real treat. We usually come in tired, dirty and longing a hot shower. By the time we accomplish taking the house dogs out and getting cleaned up, my husband is sitting at the kitchen table looking somewhat like a vulture waiting for some road kill.

Although our anniversary plans usually don't pan out as something always seems to happen at the last minute, we are hopeful. We plan on stopping by a friend's place to meet their new stray dog, a coon hound, and help make sure her barn is secure enough to house the hound till new arrangements can be made.

The dogs here are sharing in our festivities. I cooked extra chicken, so they are having baked chicken with their kibble and we have a 5 gallon pail of vanilla ice cream and enough cones to go around so they can have a little extra treat. After all, 31 years is worth celebrating.

Have a great day everyone!!!

What's the Right Thing?

"There was a drug bust, and we have two dozen pit bulls coming in and we can't keep these dogs because we have no room. Can you take at least four of them so we don't have to destroy them?"

That was the phone call last week. We, fortunately, had a little empty space and we have also become pretty good at what we call "creative kenneling", so we picked up a border terrier mix, a border collie mix, a four month old golden retriever mix, and an 8 week old cocker spaniel mix. All of them really nice dogs with no future if we weren't able to help out.

Now, I have no problem with pit bulls. They are good, loyal dogs, and unfortunately people have created lots of problems for them. However, what is the right thing here? The rescue organization we work with has been advised not to adopt out pit bulls or pit mixes because of liability laws. Finding homes for them with responsible owners can be a real problem. We have four pit mixes here right now, and the only people who have shown interest are folks that we would not approve to adopt.

So, what's the right thing?

Kobe, part 2

Now the office staff started giving me "the look" that said "can you help". The lady who brought Kobe in was, as this point, ready to cry in total frustration. She had taken a half day off work to resolve this issue and was getting nowhere fast. So, I opened my big mouth and said I had room for him, but I couldn't transport him with my heartworm patient, as I didn't bring a crate. She said she would follow us home. She did just that. Gotta wonder how far she would have driven to accomplish the transfer.

Anyway, Kobe will climb a 6 foot fence. He barked all day the first day, but because he got no recognition for his efforts, he was well behaved and quiet, for the most part, on the second day. He is beginning to behave better on leash. He is so big that I have to hold his collar to keep him on the ground and next to me. He tends to want to greet you on his hind legs - like the boxing kangaroo - and we are working on that. He has been, so far, pretty easy going and consistent in his behavior. He learns quickly. He will make a great dog for someone, especially if they like to play fetch.

My husband just looks at me and shakes his head.

Kobe

When I walked into the vet's office to pick up Penny, who had completed the first portion of her heartworm treatment and was to be kept quiet and calm, there was a man and a lady with a humongous dog ahead of me. As I waited, I couldn't help noticing that every time the dog got restless, the lady would pet and console, and his behavior would get just a bit worse. Finally the dog stood up on his hind legs (he was taller than the lady at that point), wrapped his front paws around and started biting at the leash. She was beginning to get panicky, and kept trying to back away. She was wearing a skirt and heels, and I had on jeans and a sweatshirt, so I took the leash from her and after a brief tantrum which reminded me of a boxing kangaroo, he settled down.

It seems Kobe, a lab/sharpei mix, had been adopted from a local animal shelter at some time last year. His owner had moved and either gave the dog to someone else or turned him loose to fend for himself. This very nice woman had found him as a stray. She had had him for about 10 days, and he is housebroken, gets along with kids and her two small dogs - except for rawhides - but he crawls up and over fences. She just couldn't keep him any longer. He is microchipped, neutered, and has been fully vaccinated. The office staff was calling the shelter and the owner's numbers with no response.

Chocolate Cocker

"We have a 5 month old terrier mix, a sheltie mix with 3 twelve week old puppies, and a purebred cocker spaniel female. If you can't come and get them, we will deliver." That's how we got Penny, the chocolate cocker spaniel female, along with the rest of the gang, from a nearby shelter with an 80-90% kill rate. It's an old shelter, small, understaffed, and they do the best they can to find homes for the adoptable dogs.

Penny had been left in the drop box with a note saying that she wouldn't tolerate kids flopping all over her, so she had to go. She is beautiful, needy, and strongly heartworm positive. The rescue organization we work with has raised enough money to begin treatment, and there are several applications to adopt her when she is deemed healthy.

I have been working on reducing her "needy" behavior, the whining, crying, jumping around --- as it can be detrimental in her recovery from the heartworm treatment. Not to mention the fact that it may have been part of the reason she was given up in the first place.

She has had the first part of the treatment and is doing okay so far. Who would have thought that the need to keep her as calm as possible would have resulted in Kobe coming to stay with us?

Shasta Needs a Home!!! - UPDATE

Shasta has found a home as a companion for a lady and her cocker spaniel. The woman spent the winter on the Pacific coast, lost another 18 year old dog to bone cancer, and found Shasta on Petfinder. She was driving home and made arrangements to meet Shasta on the way.