The Colbert Report: The Story of a Foster Dog.

Birthdays & Moving

2011-12-05T09:19:00.009-05:00

Nov 27th, Buela turned 5.

Dec 3rd, Colbert also turned 5.

Both days were uneventful, fetch, sun puddle recharges, couch naps, new raw hides and toys, dinner, and cuddles.

Dec 21st, their whole world in NH gets packed up and loaded onto a truck headed to GA.

Needless to say things are about to get a bit crazy here, all five of them already know it, especially since D packed up and left for two weeks of training in VA yesterday morning.

Fun times ahead though!

I shall leave you with Colbert checking out the couch after my friends V and M left last night.

Veteran's Day.

2011-11-11T00:01:00.005-05:00

April, 2009.

Oreo came to Carolina ACD Rescue and Rebound from a home headed out of the country at the ripe “old” age of eight. Amazingly, he knew nothing about manners, whether be they basic commands, acceptable behavior, or walking on a leash. As his new foster home I was surprised he knew his name. He had spent quite a bit of time kenneled before we heard about him, and as with most cattle dogs, kenneling was not a prime solution for him, yes, it was better than a gas chamber, but he suffered. His allergies, coupled with anxiety, had caused him to lick most of the fur off his fore limbs by his elbow, his feet were saliva stained from his licking, and his ears were hairless from his constant rubbing of them due to the raging yeast infection he had in both.
He was not a happy camper.
We signed on to foster him and another CACDR&R alum that was in a boarding situation, Melissa decided that Oreo was the best fit as she was sure we could handle his large size, strength, and lack of discipline. In his time at the kennel, Melissa thankfully found out he is highly food motivated and taught the old codger “sit”. He came to our house in March of 2009, Oreo was now nine.
The summer came and went, as did Oreo’s tenth birthday, and Donovan’s reenlistment with the US Navy. We were set to move and no other foster home was available, we looked at Oreo and how well he fit with the our existing pack of four and signed the papers to officially become those” dog people”. It was Veteran’s Day, 2009.
It will be two years since Oreo officially became ours, his ears are gorgeous and the fur has grown in with matching white tufts of fur inside, we call them his old man hairs. His allergies are well under control, only acting up when spring pollen is rampant. He has learned several basic commands, leash manners, and impulse control (ok, we are working on this still). We have discovered that he has arthritis in lower back, and hypothyroid issues, but despite all this, our vet has declared him one of the best looking, and healthiest 12 year olds in his practice.
While Oreo can be cranky when being asked to do something he doesn’t want to do, like give up his spot on the bed to the humans, he is a lover. He will give up his belly for a good rubbing anytime, anywhere, even in the middle of a pet store or the vet’s office. Ear, head, and butt scratches are his favorite, and he is the only one of my five dogs that will take a treat from my mouth, this is also the only time he will take any treat without living up to his name of snapdragon. In typical cattle dog fashion, he needs to be near or touching you, at this very moment he is being an excellent foot warmer here in chilly New Hampshire.
PS: We will be moving back down south at the end of the month to Georgia, much to the delight of many of our CACDR&R “family” members.

August, 2011.

Wordless Wednesday.

2011-11-03T00:14:00.003-04:00

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from my Dog

2011-10-31T15:39:00.007-04:00

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Take naps and stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Thrive on affection and let people touch you - enjoy back rubs and pats on your neck.

When you leave your yard, make it an adventure.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout - run right back and make friends.

Bond with your pack.

On cold nights, curl up in front of a crackling fire.

When you're excited, speak up.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Four years.

2011-10-03T11:45:00.004-04:00

Four years ago we were living in South Carolina, a happy little family of 5. We had gone to a local shelter to apply for one of several pit bull puppies, wanting to raise one the right way, to have a loving, joyful terrier join our happy little clan. There were MANY people applying for the 5 pups available, while waiting we went around and had a looksie at the other animals available.

This is when I came to realize just how much of a softie my husband really is.

Outside in the back was a seemingly empty pen, however, if you looked hard enough you could see there was a dog inside the dog house. D went in to see if he could coax the dog out with a biscuit. With no attention from the dog at all, he crept closer, even reached in to pet him, only to realize there were two dogs. They were pressed to tightly together one couldn't tell where one started and the other ended, the only clue was that there were far too many feet. When he touched their little bodies the already stiff puppies stiffened even more. These were not your average 7 month old puppies.

They, and their 3 siblings, had been dubbed the "Africa Puppies" and all named after countries of the continent: Sudan, Kenya, Chad, Zambia, and one other that had been fostered immediately, Ruphus.

We went home discussing names for the pit puppy, rattling off random names and words to each other, mainly place names out west like Zion and Sutter. Nearly home on that 45 minute drive I shouted out "Colbert!", we looked at each other and knew we had a winner.

Despite not being selected for the pit pup, Zambia and his siblings had struck a chord with D. So began the campaign to let us foster one of them. After training seminars at the rescue we were permitted the chance to foster one, Zambia.

Four years ago today D brought home an 8 month old scared, stressed out, feral little fluff ball of a dog named Zambia. 5 months later this puppy, now called Colbert, would be adopted as my Valentine's present. <3

"Good Homes Need Not Apply". By Nathan J Winograd

2011-08-02T14:07:00.005-04:00

Good Homes Need Not Apply By Nathan J. Winograd

A great read, if a bit lengthy. It explains some of the necessary and unnecessary hoopla behind adopting from a shelter or rescue. I personally want to thank any of my readers who have adopted, rescued, and made room in their homes and lives for their own pets in the past, kudos to you.

Enjoy.

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I’ve devoted the last [20] years of my life to reforming animal shelters in the United States (far longer doing rescue). I’ve worked at two shelters that have the highest rates of lifesaving in the nation: one as its Director of Operations and the other as the Executive Director. I’ve also worked and consulted with dozens of shelters nationwide. Currently, I run the national No Kill Advocacy Center, which is dedicated to ending the systematic killing of animals in shelters.

In my work to reform antiquated shelter practices, I often face traditional sheltering dogma that is a roadblock to lifesaving innovation. Too many shelters operate under false assumptions that cause animals to be killed. If shelter directors reevaluated, rather than hid behind conventional wisdom, they would more be more successful at saving lives.

One of the most enduring of these traditional dogmas is that animal shelters must kill because the public cannot be trusted with animals. I faced this attitude when I arrived as the new executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA in upstate New York. Other than prohibiting killing, I had planned to quietly observe the agency for the first couple of days on the job: I wanted a sense of how the agency was run. An elderly gentleman and his wife came in as I was standing behind the counter observing our adoption process. After looking at the animals for some time, they came to the front counter to adopt a cat. The man told the adoption counselor how he adopted a cat from us 15 years ago. “She died one year ago today,” he said. As much as they missed having a cat, he explained, he and his wife waited one year to get a new cat because they wanted to mourn her appropriately. As he told the story, he began to cry and walked away. His wife explained that her husband loved their cat very much, but they were indeed ready to love another one. Because they found a great cat here 15 years ago, they came back to us.

They filled out the application: Do they consider the adoption a lifetime commitment? Yes. Do they have a veterinarian? Yes. What happened to their other cat? Died of cancer. “In my arms,” the old man said. But one thing caught the adoption counselor’s eye. When they came to the question asking about where the cat would live, they had checked the box: “Mostly indoors, some outdoors.”

“Sorry,” the adoption counselor said. “We have a strict indoor-only rule.” She denied the adoption. They were stunned. I was stunned.

What happened to “15 years,” “in my arms,” “wanted to mourn her appropriately,” “lifetime commitment”? I overruled the counselor and gave them the cat. No fees, no more paperwork: “Let’s go get your kitty,” I said. I put her in their carrier and told them we’d see them in another 15 years. They thanked me and left.

I looked at the adoption counselor and told her: “We’ve got to take a more thoughtful approach to adoptions.”

She stared at me blankly.

“Ok,” I said, “Let me put it this way. Outdoor cats may face risks, but it largely depends on circumstances. We need to use common sense. This isn’t downtown Manhattan. This is a rural community. I only saw one car on my way to work this morning. In fact, given how safe it is, people should be required to let the cat go outside.” I smiled.

Nothing.

So I continued: “Outdoor cats may face risks, but so do indoor cats. They are just different ones and we don’t always see the causal connections, such as obesity and boredom. Fat and bored cats are at risk for diabetes, heart problems, and even behavior problems.” Still nothing. My then shelter manager stepped in and said that they were following the policies of the Humane Society of the United States. And HSUS says that people—and therefore shelter adoption policies—must keep cats indoors.

Over forty years ago, the late Phyllis Wright of HSUS, the matriarch of today’s killing paradigm, wrote in HSUS News,

I’ve put 70,000 dogs and cats to sleep… But I tell you one thing: I don’t worry about one of those animals that were put to sleep… Being dead is not cruelty to animals.

She then described how she does worry about the animals she found homes for. From that disturbing view, HSUS coined a maxim that says we should worry about saving lives but not about ending them and successfully propagated this viewpoint to shelters across the country. For many agencies, the HSUS standard is the gold standard. It is not uncommon for shelters to state they are “run in line with HSUS policies.” Consequently, it’s very easy to surrender an animal to a shelter and very hard to adopt one because of a distrust of the public. And after turning away adopters, these shelters often turn around and kill the same animals.

In reality, most people care deeply about animals and can be trusted with them. Evidence of this love of animals is all around us: we spend $48 billion a year on our companions, dog parks are filled with people, veterinary medicine is thriving, and books and movies about animals are all blockbusters because the stories touch people very deeply. Nonetheless, HSUS blames the public and because it has significant influence over shelter policies, promotes this view through shelter assessments, national conferences, and local advocacy. Consequently, it has failed to educate shelters to take more responsibility for the animals entrusted to their care. As a result, HSUS has impeded innovation and modernization in shelters. The result: unregulated, regressive shelters slavishly following the protocols of HSUS based on an idea that no one can be trusted. The employee at Tompkins County’s SPCA embodied this attitude. Such people are not really worried about the remote possibility that the adopted cat would one day get hit by a car and killed; they kill cats every day—obviously, killing is not the concern. Instead, staff at the Tompkins County SPCA at that time—like many shelters—can simply say they are operating “by the book,” even though that meant unnecessarily killing animals every year in the process. In other words, I came face to face with mindless bureaucracy.

I challenged the Tompkins County SPCA shelter manager on this score, asking her how it made sense to kill cats today in order to save them from possibly being killed at some time in the future. “HSUS says,” she responded, “that in order to increase the number of adoptions, we have to reduce the quality of homes”—we must, as a staff member of HSUS once later quipped, basically “adopt Pit Bulls to dog fighters.” And that, she stated, is something we should not do.

Tragically, this is a commonly held misperception in the culture of animal sheltering, but the facts prove otherwise. Increasing adoptions means offsite adoption events, public access hours, marketing and greater visibility in the community, working with rescue groups, competing with pet stores and puppy mills, adoption incentives, a good public image, and thoughtful but not bureaucratic screening. It has nothing to do with lowering quality. It has absolutely nothing to do with putting animals in harm’s way. Indeed, shelter killing is the leading cause of death for healthy dogs and cats in the United States. Adoptions take animals out of harm’s way.

Moreover, successful high-volume adoption shelters have proved that the idea that one must reduce quality of homes in order to increase quantity is merely the anachronism of old-guard, “catch and kill” shelters that must justify high kill rates and low adoptions. Quality and quantity are not, and have never been, mutually exclusive. As one progressive shelter noted:

The best adoption programs are designed to ensure that each animal is placed with a responsible person, one prepared to make a lifelong commitment, and to avoid the kinds of problems that may have caused the animal to be brought to the shelter.

I agree. I have long been a proponent of adoption screening because I, too, want animals to get good homes. But truth be told, in shelters where animals are being killed by the thousands, I’d rather they do “open adoptions” (little to no screening) because I trust the general public far more than those who run many animal control shelters—those who have become complacent about killing and willfully refuse to implement common-sense lifesaving alternatives. In fact, I recently assessed a municipal shelter with poor care and a high kill rate in one of the largest cities in the country. They practice open adoptions and volunteers have long clamored for adoption screening. My recommendation was as follows:

This is an area where volunteers have repeatedly suggested some form of screening to make sure animals are not just going into homes, but “good” homes. This suggestion has some appeal. And while it should ultimately be the agency’s goal, in the immediate cost-benefit analysis, I think it would be a mistake to do so at this time. While the shelter should ensure potential adopters do not have a history of cruelty, the shelter is not capable of thoughtful adoption screening and the end result will mean the needless loss of animal life.

At this point in the shelter’s history, the goal must be to get animals out of the shelter where they are continually under the threat of a death sentence. And given the problems with procedure implementation at the shelter, the process will become arbitrary depending on who is in charge of adoptions. There is simply too much at stake for the staff I observed to hold even more power over life and death.

In addition, several high-volume, high-kill shelters have realized that denying people for criteria other than cruelty, would lead them to get animals (likely unsterilized and unvaccinated) from other sources, with no information or guidance on proper care, which the shelter can still provide.

When the shelter has high quality staff, is consistent in applying sound policies and procedures, and has achieved a higher save rate—when shelter animals do not face certain death—it can revisit the issue of a more thoughtful screening to provide homes more suitable for particular shelter animals.

Unfortunately, too many shelters go too far with fixed, arbitrary rules—dictated by national organizations—that turn away good homes under the theory that people aren’t trustworthy, that few people are good enough, and that animals are better off dead. Unfortunately, rescue groups all-too-often share this mindset. But the motivations of rescue groups differ from those of the bureaucrat I ended up firing in Tompkins County. People who do rescue love animals, but they have been schooled by HSUS to be unreasonably—indeed, absurdly—suspicious of the public. Consequently, they make it difficult, if not downright impossible, to adopt their rescued animals.

I recently read the newsletter from a local cat rescue group. There was a story about two cats, Ruby and Alex, in their “happy endings” section. Under the title, “Good things come to those who wait,” the story explained that Ruby and Alex were in foster care for 7½ years before they found the “right” home. I wondered what was wrong with the cats. If it took seven years to find them a home, surely they must have had some serious impediments to adoption. But I couldn’t find anything in the story. Under another section in the newsletter listing the cats in their care that still needed to find “loving homes,” I found the answer.

The first one I looked at was Billy. Billy was a kitten when he was rescued in 2001. He is still in a “foster” home. Does it really take 8 years to find the “right” home? Surely, I thought again, something is wrong with this cat. But Billy is described as “easy going, playful, bouncy.” It goes on to say that “Billy loves attention and loves to be with his person. Mild-mannered and gentle with new people, he’s also a drop-and-roll kitty who will throw himself at your feet to be petted.” They also note that he likes dogs. In other words, Billy is perfect.

Clearly, the pertinent question wasn’t: “What’s wrong with the cats?” The real question was: “What’s wrong with these people?” Not surprisingly, the rescue group does not believe families with young children should adopt. They claim that if you have children who are under six years old, you should wait a few years. In reality, this rule is very common in animal sheltering. But it is a mistake nonetheless. Families with children are generally more stable, so they are a highly desirable adoption demographic. They also provide animals with plenty of stimulation, which the animals crave. Children and pets are a match made in heaven.

So if families with children shouldn’t adopt, who does that leave? Unfortunately, this group also states that kittens ‘require constant supervision like human babies do.’ My family frequently fosters kittens for our local shelter. When fostering, we live our lives like we always do: we visit friends, take walks, dine out. We often leave home for hours at a time. Obviously, I would have never done that with my kids when they were babies. That isn’t a statement on loving children more than animals. A kitten can sleep, eat, drink, use the litter box, play with a toy, and more at only six weeks of age. A human baby would starve to death surrounded by food if left alone at that age. Kittens are not “like human babies.” They are more advanced, skilled, smarter, and cleaner. But that’s not the point. The point is that the “constant supervision” rule eliminates potential adopters who go to work, too, but would otherwise provide excellent, loving, nurturing homes. That leaves the two minority extremes: unemployed people and millionaires—although my guess is the former would be ruled out, too.

Having eliminated the two most important adopter demographics (working people and families with children), is it any wonder that Billy—an easy going, playful, cuddly, gentle, drop-and-roll kitty—has been in foster care for eight years?

A Pennsylvania rescue group, operating in a community where animal control kills most animals entering that facility, should be working feverishly to adopt out as many animals as possible so they can open up space to pull more animals from the shelter. Instead, they put up ridiculous roadblocks stating that “Cohabitating couples who have not married need not apply to adopt our pets.” Apparently, people have tried because they follow up by noting on their website that you should not waste your time trying because “there are no exceptions.” This eliminates many committed couples and, for those who live in states without marriage equality, most gay people.

And a rescue group from Louisiana, a state with some of the highest killing rates in the nation, pummels you with 47 reasons not to adopt an animal on their application, including the warnings that animals will “damage your belongings, soil your furniture and/or flooring, scratch furniture, chew and tear up items, knock down breakable heirlooms, and/or dig up your yard.”

When I visited the humane society in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania a number of years ago, I was presented with a list of breeds considered not appropriate for homes with children under ten years old: Chihuahuas, Collies, Toy Breeds, and all small terriers.

Several years ago, this mentality really hit home—literally, my home. We decided to add another dog to our family. Having worked at two of the most successful shelters in the country, having performed rescue my whole adult life, having consulted with some of the largest and best known animal protection groups in the country, owning my own home, working from home, and allowing our dogs the run of the house, I thought adoption would be easy.

Adopting from our local shelter was not possible because we wanted a bigger dog which was against their rules because we had young children. Instead, we searched the online websites, and found a seven-year-old black Labrador Retriever with a rescue group about an hour south of us. I called about the dog and asked if we could meet him. They wanted to know if we had a “doggy door” leading to the backyard. We did not, but I told them happily—and naively—that I work from home and that we homeschool the kids, so the dog will be with us all the time. One of us will just let him out when he wants to go like we do for the resident dogs and then he can come back in. We have a fenced backyard. I housetrained every dog we ever had. No problem, I told them.

But that was not good enough. Apparently, the dog should be able to go in and out whenever he wants without having to ask. No doggy door, no adoption. “But,” I started to stammer: seven years old, larger black dog, sleep on the bed, with us all the time, fenced yard…. DENIED.

We then found another dog, a Lab-cross, with a different rescue group. About five years old, “a couch potato” according to the website. Perfect, I thought. I haven’t exercised since I was 18! I’ll take the dog for a walk around the block twice a day, but mostly will hang out, 24/7!

“We’d like to meet him,” I said when I called.

“There’s a $25 charge to be considered above and beyond the adoption fee,” they replied.

“No problem. If he likes our dogs, we’ll pay whatever it costs.”

“No,” I was told. “You have to pay the non-refundable fee before you can meet any dog and before we review your application.”

“What are your rules for adoption?” I said, not wanting to sink $25 if I was going to be denied because of the age of my kids, because I have brown eyes, or because I am balding.

“We can’t discuss that until after you pay the $25.”

Exasperated, I hung up.

We finally found a dog—a seven year old, lab-mix with a rescue group two hours from us by car. The fee was $250 to adopt, a pricey sum, but we were approved over the telephone because she was familiar with my work.

I could have given up. Lots of people do. When I tell people what I do for a living, that my work takes me all over the country trying to reform antiquated shelter practices, people constantly tell me how they tried to adopt from a shelter or rescue group, but were denied for entirely illogical reasons. One woman told me of her own failed attempt to adopt a dog and save a life. She owned an art gallery and wanted a dog who would come to work with her every day, just like her previous one who had recently died. The new dog would also have the run of both the house and office. She went to several shelters to adopt, but all of them denied her: she had really young kids and she wanted a large dog, and that was against the rules. She ended up at a breeder because she really wanted a dog, she said sheepishly, thinking I would judge her as having failed. “But I tried…” she trailed off. “The shelters failed you,” I replied.

Recently, HSUS launched a campaign to help shelters “educate the public” about adoption policies by creating a poster for shelters to hang in their lobbies. The poster features a chair beneath a light in a cement room. The tagline reads: “What’s with all the questions?” and it tells you not to take it personally. Rather than ask shelters to reexamine their own assumptions, HSUS produces a poster of what looks like an interrogation room at Abu Ghraib, instructing potential adopters to simply put up with it. In the process, adopters are turned away. Cats like Billy wait years for a home. And animals are needlessly killed: three million adoptable ones, while shelters peddle the fiction that there aren’t enough homes.

In fact, there are plenty of homes. The experience of successful No Kill communities proves it; No Kill communities now thrive across the United States. The data also proves it. Approximately three million dogs and cats that need a home are killed every year. Simultaneously, [of the 23 million people] looking to get a new dog or cat, [17 million] can be persuaded to adopt from a shelter. And, the number of people shelters turn away because of some arbitrary and bureaucratic process proves it. Like this experience shared with me a few years ago:

I tried to adopt from my local shelter… I found this scared, skinny cat hiding in the back of his cage and I filled out an application. I was turned down because I didn’t turn in the paperwork on time, which meant a half hour before closing, but I couldn’t get there from work in time to do that. I tried to leave work early the next day, but I called and found out they had already killed the poor cat. I will never go back.

Shelter animals already face formidable obstacles to getting out alive: customer service is often poor, a shelter’s location may be remote, adoption hours may be limited, policies may limit the number of days they are held, they can get sick in a shelter, and shelter directors often reject common-sense alternatives to killing. One-third to one-half of all dogs and roughly 60 percent of cats are killed because of these obstacles. Since the animals already face enormous problems, including the constant threat of execution, shelters and rescue groups shouldn’t add arbitrary roadblocks. When kind hearted people come to help, shelter bureaucrats shouldn’t start out with a presumption that they can’t be trusted.

In fact, most of the evidence suggests that the public can be trusted. While roughly eight million dogs and cats enter shelters every year, that is a small fraction compared to the 165 million thriving in people’s homes. Of those entering shelters, only four percent are seized because of cruelty and neglect. Some people surrender their animals because they are irresponsible, but others do so because they have nowhere else to turn—a person dies, they lose their job, their home is foreclosed. In theory, that is why shelters exist—to be a safety net for animals whose caretakers no longer can or want to care for them.

When people decide to adopt from a shelter—despite having more convenient options such as buying from a pet store or responding to a newspaper ad—they should be rewarded. We are a nation of animal lovers, and we should be treated with gratitude, not suspicion. More importantly, the animals facing death deserve the second chance that many well intentioned Americans are eager to give them, but in too many cases, are senselessly prevented from doing so.

A POEM TO MY FOSTER DOG, By Diane Morgan

2011-07-26T10:39:00.001-04:00

I am the bridge,

Between what was and what can be.

I am the pathway to a new life.

I am made of mush,

Because my heart melted when I saw you,

Matted and sore, limping, depressed

Lonely, unwanted, afraid to love.

For one little time you are mine.

I will feed you with my own hand.

I will love you with my whole heart.

I will make you whole.

I am made of steel.

Because when the time comes,

When you are well, and sleek,

when your eyes shine,

And your tail wags with joy

Then comes the hard part.

I will let you go-not without a tear,

But without a regret.

For you are safe forever--

A new dog needs me now.

Is it Summer yet?

2011-05-18T10:37:00.008-04:00

Here is is, May 18th, and its been raining since the 14th with no end in the near future.

This has been Buela's week, having gone lame after a game of fetch and remaining so through the weekend with no running, jumping, fetching, or frisbee, to the vet we went.

After an exam and an xray, it is only a soft tissue tear to her knee, no blown ligaments or bone fragments, just some anti inflammatories and no fetching, running, jumping, or anything involved with being a cattle dog is allowed.

What we did find however is that her hips are not set correctly, they are fine, but not perfect, she would have never been good breeding stock, and thankfully D and I didn't wander down that path of ignorant, blissful, stupidity.

She will be fine for now, just on a life long regimen of fish oil, glucosamine, and a little bit of weight loss to avoid arthritic hips which we are already dealing with in Oreo.

(Buela, the poster child for why veterinarian's do not take blood pressure readings on dogs.)

"Be Gentle: I know my dog is old" By Susan Seligson

2011-02-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

Be Gentle: I know my dog is old
A call for improving our etiquette with older dogs.
By Susan Seligson

Like everyone else in a society loudly lamenting a decline in civility, I recognize there are new breaches of etiquette every minute. On any typical day, cell phones alone account for the rudeness factor going off the charts.

But I believe there is one type of impolite behavior among adult humans that goes pretty much unchecked. I’ve been guilty of it myself and slinked away feeling really stupid. It just isn’t something that makes it into the etiquette books and it apparently isn’t even worth Miss Manners’ fleeting consideration.

I am referring to the blunt, utterly uncensored and often just plain mean things people say to us about our dogs (by “us” I mean dog people). My close friend Pam has a 12-yearold German Shepherd who is visibly aging. So are the rest of us, human and canine, but to what person would you ever be so crude as to say the following: “Is that your mother? Wow, she looks awful. She can hardly move!” Yet this is the unsolicited blubbering my friend endures from strangers, all day long, about her old dog. I empathize because I’ve been through this three times, beginning with our family Beagle, Sam, who lived to be nearly 17, mostly out of spite.

“How old is he?” People would ask this unrelentingly about my now-departed Irish Setter, Amos. I didn’t mind telling them that he was 12 or 13. “Wow. They don’t live much longer than that, do they?” How tacky is this?

But it gets worse. When my big, hairy mutt, Louie (we called him our “Bavarian crotch-smeller”) was old and frail, someone once asked me, “Have you thought about putting him down?” First of all, that’s kind of like asking a woman in her 40s (this also happened to me), “Have you ever thought about having children?” “Gee, there’s an idea! Why didn’t I think of that?” When your dog is old and sick, the end is pretty much all you can think about. Your heart is breaking and you’re preparing yourself to come to that decision in a way that spares your dog unnecessary suffering while giving yourself time to feel as peaceful as possible about letting him go.

People assume they can say anything they like about a stranger’s dog. While they’d (I hope) refrain from saying, “Excuse me, but it looks like your husband is losing his hair,” when Louie was suffering from Cushing’s disease, strangers constantly took it upon themselves to point out his hair loss. “Do you know your dog is losing his hair?” And what can you do except mumble, um, yes, this is my dog, he’s part of my family, I’m nearly always with him, I bathe him, I brush him, he sleeps with us, and throughout most, if not all, of these activities, I am looking at him! And it’s always too late when you think of how you could’ve said, “Do you know you have a wart on your chin?”

Pam is at the point where she dreads walking her dog in public because she knows passersby will make insensitive comments she can’t bear to hear. Out in the world she is thoughtful and tender enough not to remind everyone she encounters that they are mortal. Like the rest of us, she can tell when a person’s on his or her last legs, but she keeps herself from saying, “Gee, you sure are slowing down” or asking the person’s daughter, “So how long do people in your family tend to live?” When approaching people like my friend, it helps to remind oneself that she knows her dog is old. She knows it every waking second of every day.

The last years and months we share with our geriatric dogs are among the most bittersweet times in dog lovers’ lives. We know, from the moment we choose these guys as puppies or meet their limpid stares at the animal shelter, that our hearts will be torn apart some day. What makes it so much worse is that the older they get, the sweeter they get, and when they reach absolute critical sweetness—you simply cannot love them any more than you already do—they grow completely exhausted and die. So a person patiently coaxing an old dog on his increasingly shrinking route is someone who could benefit from a little compassionate restraint. Like a simple hello for the owner, or a tender pat on the head for the doggie emeritus.

It's time for you to get into rescue.

2011-02-17T14:22:00.003-05:00

"It is our gift to see beyond the dirt, terror, sadness, and defeat to find the true soul that lies within. We are Rescue. " (Kathie Sullivan-Parkes)

"Rescuing" a dog isn't hard, helping a dog in need isn't hard, fostering can be hard, but only when they go to their new home.

Regardless of where you live, there is a rescue out there with whatever breed (or non breed) of canine you like that needs help helping the dogs.

Maybe you have some spare time help out at an adoption event; some old towels, paper goods, cleaning supplies or even more time to donate to physical shelters.

Making a trip across a state? Room for a dog in your vehicle? Transport legs are always needing filling.

Have the space to actually foster a dog in your home? That is always a necessity for any rescue or shelter, puppy and kitten season is coming again, and there are always new faces showing up at the shelter with the economic times we are living in.

Have some change kicking around in your couch? get it all together and donate it, many rescues and shelters have collection cans in their lobbies, often have 'chip-in' webpages for sick animals, and will never turn down a donation.

Sit back and take stock of what you have, then know that these pets have nothing until someone steps forward for them.

When all other friends desert he remains.

2011-01-28T10:18:00.002-05:00

"The one absolutely unselfish friend a man can have....the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog...He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert he remains."

-From a pledging in front of a jury by George Graham Vest

A Dog's Ten Commandments

2011-01-27T18:29:00.001-05:00

From a Dog's Point of View by Stan Rawlinson

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Regular separation from you will be painful and can even cause depression. Think before you buy me.

2. Give me time to understand what you want from me don't be impatient, short-tempered or irritable.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

3. Place your trust in me and I will always trust you back, respect is earned not given as some sort of inalienable right.

4. Don't be angry with me for long, and don't lock me up as punishment. I am not capable of understanding why I am being locked up. I only know I have been rejected. You have your work, entertainment and friends. I only have you.

5. Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your tone. "You only have to look at my tail" to know that.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget, if that treatment is unjust or bad, it may spoil the special bond between us.

7. Please do not hit me. I cannot hit back, but I can bite and scratch and I don't ever want to feel the need to do that.

8. Before you tell me off me for being uncooperative, obstinate, or lazy, ask yourself if something might be wrong with me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food or I've been out in the sun too long, maybe my heart is getting old and weak, or maybe I'm just dog-tired.

9. Take care of me when I get old. You too will grow old and will also want care, love, and affection.

10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say, "I can't bear to watch" or "Let it happen in my absence". Everything is easier for me if you are there. Remember, Irrespective of what you do I will always love you.

Fetch with Colbert

2010-12-23T16:36:00.002-05:00

Click here! > Fetch with Colbert

Watching this I realize that three years ago he absolutely wouldn't look at someone, never mind play fetch off leash, unfenced, and with cars going by. I ♥ Mr Fancy Pants

Why old dogs are the best dogs

2010-12-14T18:38:00.006-05:00

"Old dogs can be cloudy-eyed and grouchy, gray of muzzle, graceless of
gait, odd of habit, hard of hearing, pimply, wheezy, lazy, and lumpy.
But to anyone who has ever known an old dog, these flaws are of little
consequence. Old dogs are vulnerable. They show exorbitant gratitude and
limitless trust. They are without artifice. They a...re funny in new and
unexpected ways."

This by far describes Oreo. We had a stray spend the night with us Sunday night, she had a tag and would be going home, but it was dark pouring, and she only had her dog license. Oreo was so insecure, intent on constantly cuddling, not protecting or guarding, but cuddling with us. Wide eyed and cranky at the young female lab. He wanted nothing to do with her, despite his reputation for always thoroughly checking out every dog he meets.

If you have an old dog, might I recommend some tissues.

Why old dogs are the best dogs.

2010-12-12T00:46:00.000-05:00

The Unforgettable Story of an Adopted Labrador Retriever

You best get yourself a big box of tissues to read this one.

A POEM TO MY FOSTER DOG By Diane Morgan

2010-12-11T23:07:00.002-05:00

A POEM TO MY FOSTER DOG

By Diane Morgan

I am the bridge,
Between what was and what can be.
I am the pathway to a new life.

I am made of mush,
Because my heart melted when I saw you,
Matted and sore, limping, depressed
Lonely, unwanted, afraid to love.

For one little time you are mine.
I will feed you with my own hand.
I will love you with my whole heart.
I will make you whole.

I am made of steel.
Because when the time comes,
When you are well,
and sleek,
when your eyes shine,
And your tail wags with joy
Then comes the hard part.

I will let you go-not without a tear,
But without a regret.
For you are safe forever--A new dog needs me now.

A Little Recap, and more on having an older dog.

2010-12-11T22:38:00.003-05:00

As we know, Max had his 6th birthday on the 5th. He has also started to develop white hairs on his nose.

On the 4th I took him in with Colbert, who got a rabies titer, to let the vet look at a lump on Max's head.

It was about the size of a bee-bee, but would get smaller or larger when it felt like it, due to the fact that it was a solid mass, the vet wanted to take it off. They didn't think it was cancer, but the possibility was definitely there.

That was done on the 17th, Max had the most awesome hair cut (still does, but it's nearly all grown back in by now), it was to be 10 to 14 days til we got the result.

The day before Thanksgiving we got the call, it was a benign lump, and a fairly common type of tumor, and in the usual spot it is found on dogs. Something we will have to be on the look out as he gets older.

Nov 27th, Buela turned 4. and on the 3rd of December, Colbert also turned 4.

An Apology for my Pit Bull by Betty Geist

2010-12-09T10:22:00.001-05:00

AN APOLOGY TO PEOPLE WHO ARE OFFENDED BY MY DOG OR (PIT BULLS) by Betty Geist

I'm sorry you are frightened of my dogs and are trying to have them killed because they are pit bulls.

I'm sorry you lack the understanding of this breed's true history, gentleness with people, wonderful temperament, intelligence and behavioral conformation.

I'm sorry you won't read the ATTS stats regarding our breed's true temperament, putting it in the top four for temperament, scoring better than breeds like Golden Retrievers, and Cocker Spaniels.

I'm sorry that you side with and protect animal abusers by marking the breed of dog, and not the irresponsibility of the owner.

I'm sorry that by your logic I could steal a car, run some people over with it and then you can blame the make of car for the accident, as I walk free.

I'm sorry you generalize one breed of dog with one group of people. I'm sorry you can't see the love and determination that many often highly educated, non-criminal and "normal" types of people show towards this breed and the great personal sacrifices that they make to take care of their dog responsibly.

I'm sorry you cannot go into the shelters and see the hundreds of abandoned and abused pit bulls, dying only for the inane "crime" of being born the breed they are.

I'm sorry you cannot see the look of disappointment in their eyes as someone walks by their kennel, and refuses to consider adopting them based on an ill educated fear mongering reporter.

I'm sorry that you cannot be there when the animal looks at a human for the last time, and in spite of betrayed by all humans they have met, their tail still wags as someone approaches with the syringe of Euthinol.

I'm sorry cannot be there when law enforcement shoots one of your dogs dead inside it's own home in front of the children it mutually loves for simply getting off the dog bed and walking over to say hello with it's tail wagging.

I'm sorry you cannot be there to rescue pit bull puppies from a plastic bag in a dumpster, dumped there by someone switching their illegal, and inhumane activities to another, more lucrative breed.

I'm sorry you cannot understand the difference between canine and human aggression, in the way that this breed can. Yes, I'm saying my pit bull is smarter then you.

I'm sorry that the medieval witch hunting genetics of intolerance, generalization, and racism make you feel the need to vilify a breed of dog.

I'm sorry that justice, equality, tolerance, common sense are all things you hold dear as a fellow American, and expect from others, but do not yourself offer them towards a pit bull or its caregiver.

I'm sorry that you don't take the constructive time to petition changes in the American animal cruelty act, and in the criminal code that would deal out serious punishment to the real animal abusers.

I'm sorry you cannot see the disappointed look on a puppy's face when the people petting it quickly frown, and walk away when you tell them it is a pit bull.

I'm sorry you feel the need to terrorize my family and my dogs for crimes we never have and never will commit.

I'm sorry you don't have to live in fear of your dog's safety from hysterical, and mentally unstable people trying to inflict all manner of evil upon your dogs.

I'm sorry that you cannot see my breed working in some of the best Search and Rescue groups in the world, saving countless lives each year.

I'm sorry our media censors and refuses to print the breed name "pit bull' when in connection with a positive act such as saving a person or child from a burning house, drowning, wild attacking animals, etc.

I'm sorry you cannot see the many pit bulls registered as therapy dogs and bringing so much joy to another misunderstood, neglected demographic in our society, the senior citizen.

I am sorry you can't see a pit bull kiss a child, step carefully over a kitten, or play in a sunbeam.

I'm sorry you cannot wake in the morning to feel a warm pit bull cuddled next to you in bed, and know that you are their total world, and even if the house caught fire and trapped you, they would stay with you to the end.

But, now that I really think about it, I'm not at all sorry you don't own a pit bull--you do not deserve one!

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November.

2010-11-02T15:56:00.007-04:00

Max will be 6 on Friday the fifth. Hard to imagine that he is nearing senior status himself, D even found that some of the hairs around his nose have turned white.

Just don't tell him that he is getting old. ;)

Max started life as a pound puppy, big feet, big ears, big lavender tongue, and was adopted by a girl named A. Due to the curve balls associated with being in the Navy, A needed to re-home her 2 dogs and cat. Enter D, A and D worked together during shore duty, so we went to her house one day to see which dog would get along best with the girls. Max was it.

He has taught Buela and Colbert to be little fetch monsters, and with out a doubt played a massive role in rehabilitating Colbert into a nearly normal dog. He is always the first to play with any new foster and is affectionately called the ladies man, I mean, who wouldn't want to pet a big yellow puffball with a cheezy poof tail?

Happy Early Birthday Maximus fluffious (big fluffy)! (and a big thank you to A!)

6 months-ish

Last winter here at the farmhouse, and oh so handsome.

Dear Foster Mom,

2010-10-07T14:42:00.001-04:00

There I sat, alone and afraid, you got a call and came right to my aid. You bundled me up with blankets and love, and when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.

I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold. That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.

You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend. You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.

And just when I thought you'd done all you do,There came along not one new lesson, but two.

First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go.I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."

Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.Along came a new family, they even have kids!

They took me to their home, forever to stay.At first I thought you sent me away.

Then that second lesson became perfectly clear. No matter how far, you will always be near.

And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on. I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.

But I'll never forget what I learned that first day. You never really give your fosters away.

You gave me these thoughts to remember you by. We may never meet again, and now I know why.

You'll remember I lived with you for a time. I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.

Author Unknown

3 years ago.

2010-10-01T13:01:00.002-04:00

Three years ago I was preparing for a special arrival on this day. I was scrubbing a dog house with bleach and soapy water, vacuuming the spare bedroom, and the dogs knew something was up.

Max was about to turn three, Buela just shy of a year old, and Roni was two.

D had signed the paperwork, all that was left to do was to pick him up.

Zambia, soon to be known as Colbert (aka Stephen T, Stinky, Capt Fussypants, etc) was going to be our first foster dog.

Monday the 4th will mark three years since we stepped into the shoes of a foster parent, and opened the door to being a rescue family. While we ended up keeping Colbert (my 2008 Valenties present) we have had quite a few fosters walk through our door and while the Hixson Hotel is full at the moment, we still donate and do work for rescues.

2010-09-02T13:04:00.004-04:00

Some say money can't buy you happiness or love; they have obviously never adopted a dog.

Mystery Solved. Ish.

2010-08-24T10:33:00.009-04:00

So in all the years we have had dogs we knew that Roni (Corona) was a shoe eater. Buela chewed up the window sills in the apt and the house. Max kills stuffed toys, Oreo is a trash dog and Colbert likes to "redecorate".

"redecorating"

Yesterday I came home to the travesty that was one of my 2 pair of non work jeans with the crotch chewed out. Because of Roni's history of eating shoes, panties, and boxers I of course assumed it was her.

Rest In Pieces.

After having called the vet and developing an action plan for if she had issues and what to look for, I of course did the mommy thing and checked for evidence this AM. Roni has no problem...it was Colbert who had an issue. (No, I will not be posting a poo pic, but I can get one upon request).

So my little redecorator is also a clothing eater. This means that he is also probably responsible for D's swim trunks and the sock I found with my jeans. Ugh. We need to get this boy better hobbies than eating clothes, fly snapping, yodeling, and the hoppy dance.

UPDATE: Roni helped...I have evidence ;)

Top 10 Reasons to Adopt an Older Dog

2010-07-26T11:11:00.004-04:00

Top 10 Reasons to Adopt an Older Dog

1. What You See Is What You Get

Older dogs are open books—from the start, you’ll know important things like their full-grown size, personality and grooming requirements. All this information makes it easier to pick the right dog and forge that instant love connection that will last a lifetime. If you’re not so into surprises, an older dog is for you!

2. Easy to Train

Think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Hogwash! Older dogs are great at focusing on you—and on the task at hand—because they’re calmer than youngsters. Plus, all those years of experience reading humans can help them quickly figure out how to do what you’re asking.

3. Seniors are Super-Loving

One of the cool parts of our job is reading stories from people just like you who have opted to adopt. The emails we get from pet parents with senior dogs seem to all contain beautiful, heartfelt descriptions of the love these dogs give you—and those of you who adopted dogs already in their golden years told us how devoted and grateful they are. It's an instant bond that cannot be topped!

4. They’re Not a 24-7 Job

Grownup dogs don’t require the constant monitoring puppies do, leaving you with more freedom to do your own thing. If you have young children, or just value your “me time,” this is definitely a bonus.

5. They Settle in Quickly

Older dogs have been around the block and already learned what it takes to get along with others and become part of a pack. They’ll be part of the family in no time!

6. Fewer Messes

Your floors, shoes and furniture will thank you for adopting a senior pooch! Older dogs are likely to already be housetrained—and even if they’re not, they have the physical and mental abilities to pick it up really fast (unlike puppies). With their teething years far behind them, seniors also are much less likely to be destructive chewers.

7. You Won’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

There are those who yearn for a doggie friend of their own, but hold back because they worry what might happen in their lives in the years to come. And they are wise to do so—a puppy or young dog can be anywhere from an 8- to 20-year responsibility, which is not appropriate for the very elderly or those with certain long-term future plans. Providing a loving home for a dog in her golden years is not a less serious commitment, but it can be a shorter one.

8. They Enjoy Easy Livin’

Couch potato, know thyself! Please consider a canine retiree rather than a high-energy young dog who will run you ragged. Not that older dogs don’t require any exercise—they do—but they’re not going to need, or want, to run a marathon every day.

9. Save a Life, Be a Hero

At shelters, older dogs are often the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized. Saving an animal’s life offers an unparalleled emotional return on your investment, and you’ll feel the rewards every day you spend together.

10. They’re CUTE!

Need we say more?

Old Dogs are the Best Pets to Have.

2010-07-14T15:28:00.001-04:00

I will tell you this. Old dogs are the best pets to have. They want nothing more than to lay around your house, eat some food, and be around you when you’re doing something very relaxing. I know. I’ve got one.

I’ve adopted puppies. They’re a complete pain in the ass. They want to run around constantly. They’ll try to tell you they are the boss once they get a little feel for themselves. Once they realize that they can make a demand or two. If you have any sense you’ll let them know, they aren’t the boss. They don’t own the couch nor do you jump up at their command. Otherwise you’re constantly on call.

Yup, old dogs know the score. That or they just don’t care to call the shots anymore. They’re content to relax and let the young dogs run to the window to see if the mailman really is daring to approach the front door.

Don’t get me wrong. They might act like they care, but they really don’t. They’re just barking to let you know that there may be something you have to handle here very soon. You can tell. When they bark and look at you…it’s your problem to deal with. They’re just sounding the alarm.

If they can still hear you’ll do ok to tell them “Enough! I’ve got this one.” They understand a commanding tone. They might bark a few more times but that’s just the fading shadow of youth. Their way of telling you “Ok, you handle this one but I don’t like the look of him. Not one bit.” All of you have been there.

The true joy of having an older dog is knowing that lounging around is their highest aspiration. The other aspiration is one more walk on a sunny day. Hell, one more walk is often all their asking for. The sun is optional.

That’s the joy of owning an older dog. The bright shining example that true contentment comes from being with people who love you and enjoying the times that you have together. Whether they’re sunny days, cloudy ones, rainy crap days, or even snowy cold ones. The truth is that having those days is the blessing. A day with the knowledge that you’ll be taken care of, eat good food, and have a pleasant spot to lay down when you’re a bit tired. Those are truly the good things that get over looked when you’re too young or busy to know their true worth.

Old dogs know this. Some of them have been places where all of that were in question. They might be animals but they remember. They remember the uncertainty of being around people who by necessity can’t look you in the eye or offer you kindness. They know, things can be much worse than now.

It’s good to have an old dog around. They don’t ask for much and let you know that any day where you are loved, cared for, warm, and fed are glorious ones.

-Anonymous

Signs of a Bad Breeder

2010-07-08T15:13:00.002-04:00

Let it be known I will be a rescue mom and advocate for life.

However, if you must, absolutely must, have a puppy, or a "breed" dog, and for some unknown reason cannot find a rescue with the dog you want (even those obnoxious "designer" dogs [read MUTTS] have their own rescues now too) here are some tips to follow.

Keep in mind while it says Charleston SC, there are AKC chapters all over the US.

Taken from: Signs of a Bad Breeder | Lowcountry Dog.

Signs of a Bad Breeder
by svilardo2 on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 8:00am | filed in Health and Wellness

The best part of waking up, is puppy hair in your cup. Ok, so that isn't quite how the original jingle went, but no one can deny that waking up to that cute little puppy face is one of the best things ever! While many people choose to adopt a dog or puppy from a shelter, many people also choose to purchase their puppy from a breeder.

There are numerous red flags that are signs you are about to enter into a potentially dangerous and expensive situation. Let's take a quick look at some of the signs of a bad breeder.

Advertising
Very rarely do top quality breeders put ads in their local newspaper or advertise litters for sale via signs on street corners. Quality breeders often have waiting lists for their litters because of customer satisfaction and word of mouth referrals. Advertising is not needed.

No Knowledge
Bad breeders have little to no knowledge of the breed of dog they are selling or the genealogy of the parents. Without proper knowledge of the lines of descent, your new puppy may be prone to genetic diseases, blindness, hip displaysia and many other physical and psychological issues. If the breeder can not show you paperwork of the puppy's parents, provide you with health information from the pup's linage, offer health guarantees or answer basic questions about the breed, go elsewhere.

Good breeders will not only offer up a wealth of information about their dogs and litters, but will want to know about you as well! If a breeder doesn't ask you any questions about you and your family at all, they are not truly interested in their pup's welfare. Good breeders are so invested in their breed and their dogs that they want assurances their litters all go to good homes.

Setting
Many backyard breeders have a filthy, large pen or over-crowded crates where the puppies and, at times, the parents are kept. Some bad breeders won't even allow you to come to the puppies' home, offering instead to come to you. This is a huge red flag. Bad breeders often claim the dogs are "raised in a home" when they are not. It is so important to view the pup's home environment, and you must be prepared to walk away if you don't feel good about what you see. At all times, resist the urge to buy a cute pup from a pen in a parking lot.

Both the Publisher of Lowcountry Dog, Leah England, and I have fallen desperately for the poor conditions in which backyard breeders can keep their pups. It's easy to feel you are rescuing a dog from a horrible place when you buy from such a breeder. More than 6 years ago, before beginning Lowcountry Dog, Leah and her family fell in love when they spotted their puppy and couldn't say "No" though their brains told them otherwise. "It was totally an emotional choice. Once I saw her, I knew I couldn't leave her there. Though I loved my dog fiercely, I see now it was the wrong choice. I provided funds to a breeder who continued her sloppy breeding practices, and helped her to continue producing litters with countless genetic issues" says England. My flat-coated retriever ended up with thousands in vet bills because she was wounded by the mother and malnourished, while Leah's pup struggled with genetic temperament issues that despite years of expensive training and lots of love, she was never able to overcome.

Contrast this with quality breeders who will not only show you clean dog runs and outdoor exercise areas, but will show you the dogs' sleeping places, even where the dogs play in the home and with whom they play (children, friends, etc.). You should also be able to meet at least one of the pup's parents (usually the mother) and get contact information for the owners of the litter's sire. Meeting the parents is a wonderful way to see what your pup will be like when full grown.

Over-Breeding
Another sign of a bad breeder is over-breeding. Most good breeders limit themselves to one or two litters each breeding season. Beware the breeder who is not only breeding multiple types of dogs, but breeding upwards of 5 litters at a time. You don't want a breeder who is cranking out litters for profit at the expensive of good breeding practices.

Presence and Recommendations
Bad breeders usually don't have much presence anywhere except the newspaper classifieds, events that allow the sale of dogs and street corner signage. Because of the costs and the ability to track the poor conditions and abusive treatment to puppies, many bad breeders will not set up websites or be involved in local groups like the Charleston AKC and breed specific clubs. If the breeder is not an active part in his or her community and does not provide you a with a lengthy list of referrals from people happy with their puppies, don't purchase from them.

So those are a few things to watch out for when trying to avoid picking a bad breeder. Make sure you ask plenty of questions and be prepared to walk away and say "No." When my wife and I bought our first full blood puppy (from a good breeder), we spent over a year talking with the breeder before making any decisions. We did plenty of research and even called around for other satisfied customers. Finally, we studied up and put our breeder's knowledge to the test. The Charleston Kennel Club is a good source if information on quality breeders.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T12:13:00.001-04:00

There I sat, alone and afraid,
You got a call and came right to my aid.
You bundled me up with blankets and love.
And, when I needed it most, you gave me a hug.
I learned that the world was not all that scary and cold.
That sometimes there is someone to have and to hold.
You taught me what love is, you helped me to mend.
You loved me and healed me and became my first friend.
And just when I thought you'd done all you do,
There came along not one new lesson, but two.
First you said, "Sweetheart, you're ready to go.
I've done all I can, and you've learned all I know."
Then you bundled me up with a blanket and kiss.
Along came a new family, they even have kids!
They took me to their home, forever to stay.
At first I thought you sent me away.
Then that second lesson became perfectly clear.
No matter how far, you will always be near.
And so, Foster Mom, you know I've moved on.
I have a new home, with toys and a lawn.
But I'll never forget what I learned that first day.
You never really give your fosters away.
You gave me these thoughts to remember you by.
We may never meet again, and now I know why.
You'll remember I lived with you for a time.
I may not be yours, but you'll always be mine.

-Anonymous

Shelter dogs aren't broken.

2010-04-11T13:20:00.002-04:00

"Shelter dogs aren't broken.
They've simply experienced more life than other dogs.
If they were human, we would call them wise.
They would be the ones with tales to tell and stories to write.
The ones dealt a bad hand who responded with courage.
Don't pity a shelter dog.
Adopt one.
And be proud to have their greatness by your side."

~dogsrule.com

Colbert at the vets.

2010-04-09T23:05:00.005-04:00

Normally when taking my youngest to the vets it results in an anxiety attack, heavy panting, whining, peeing, and eventually, the backwards sneeze; which involves putting your hand over his nose and forcing him to breathe through his mouth.

Took Colbert Wednesday for a routine physical at the new vet. Something he hasn't had for a while seeing as going to the vet's office was so stressful for him. We would sit outside on the bench or let him run on the grass and get called in, get whatever was needed and put him straight into the car.

Figured since it was new vet with no imprinted memories for him, such as waking up in a strange kennel when he was neutered, we might as well go for the full treatment.

Seeing as they didn't give Oreo his Lyme vaccine when I took him in a few weeks ago I brought him along too.

For new patients the vet asks for fecal samples. With an 11 AM appointment I figured they would have to pop a squat at some point in the morning. Negative. So we go to the vet sample-less, while I am checking in with the girl I look at them and BOTH are in the squat of shame in the middle of the waiting room, and both with the biggest happy faces ever. Ugh. Least the Dr knew it was a fresh sample.

Off to the exam room, Oreo has learned that if he gets on the scale and sits he gets a treat. Yeah, we did that routine a few dozen times.

They had to put the table up for Shorty McGee, the hydraulics interested him, but didn't freak him out. He did well with the shots, blood draw, and exam. Because his fur and body are so thick, and he was panting like a freight train, it was hard to hear his heart but Colbert is in great health.

His premature whitening is normal. As is his "Fly Snapping" and licking, both signs of OCD. We can put him on the veterinary equivalent of Valium if we wanted to but D and I aren't going to go that way. Mainly because it isn't incessant and the added stress of getting him to take a pill everyday would probably counter the effects of the drugs.

So in the end our little boy is healthy, as normal as he can be, and built like a brick shit house. (Yes, I know I just got that song stuck in your head!)

I officially have a senior dog: The Results.

2010-03-24T17:34:00.003-04:00

Good news: Oreo has gorgeous hips and knees. His anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL's) are spectacularly solid for a 10 year old as well.

He is also (obviously) Heart Worm and Lyme disease negative.

Not so good news: He has Lumbo-Sacral Stenosis with narrowing of the disc space and sclerosis (arthritis) of the end plates. This means that the disc has either been compacted or was never there and the result is that the last vertebra of his spine before his sacrum has become arthritic. This is also where the sciatic nerve branches off the spinal column and goes to the legs.

There is also bridging spondylosis of the L-S space and the cranial lumbar spaces. Meaning that bone is starting to develop between the two vertebra in order to stabilize the spine. Dr H is not worried about the thoracic bridging so much as he is in regards to the build up around the sacrum.

The disc space between L4/5 and 6 is also narrowed.

What all this means. He is on 50mg of Rimadyl 2x daily, this is a common arthritis medication. He is not far enough advanced to warrant surgery. We are going to see how much this helps him out and go from there.

I will say that the staff there are superb, and Dr H was pleasantly surprised that I knew where all the bits and pieces were, as in I could tell immediately that his hips and knees were clean. When it was time for the vet tech to get him the poor puppy growled at the girl when she opened the door. She came to see if I could get him to come out. He was wedged in the back corner of his kennel shaking in a huddled, pitiful ball. For all the pain he caused me last Thursday when he bit me, and as much as I swore at him, I would have rather he had bit me again than to see him like that.

I officially have a senior dog.

2010-03-24T11:54:00.003-04:00

Dogs, especially large breeds, are considered seniors at 7. My Oreo turned 10 in October. However, the events of the past month have really pointed out that I truly do have a senior dog in my midst.

Quick catch up, Oreo is my rescued, 10 year old, 61.6# (today), Aussie mix blue speckled male. We have had him for a year as of the 8th of March, though we officially adopted him on veteran's day...fitting as his previous owners were USAF and we are USN.

About a month ago, Oreo showed some sensitivity in his hips, the vet recommended that we do a "wait and see" as he was still running, getting on the furniture, playing, and being his general self.

Last week due to food obsession correction he bit my arm. Anyone that knows rescue and dog behavior knows that a dog doesn't bite for no reason, and it isn't the dogs fault if he bit you. My doctor said I had some of the most colorful bruises he has seen in a very long time, because Oreo clenched his jaws more than once I have a series of them that have wrapped around 2/3rds of my arm, I named the one on my inner arm "Fudgie the Whale". Any New Englander will get that reference. So a vet appointment was made.

Today I took him in to see Dr Harrington, a vet that has been taking care of my families pets for years. This is the man that stayed open late so my sister could come in and have her 15 year old cat put down when it was found that cancer had nearly taken over his whole body at the Emergency Vet.

He mentioned things that I had noticed, but never having had an older dog didn't noticed as red flags. For instance, Oreo automatically sat when Dr H got near his hips and he has narrow hips and should have more muscle tone there. I had noticed that he would sit instead of receive his butt scratch he also isn't a fan of having his haunches brushed out. As he has always had the big chest/little butt I never noticed that.

So I had to leave the love bug at the vet's office. They will be sedating him, taking a full course of blood work (thyroid, cancer, glucose, etc) from him and x-raying his hips, pelvis and abdomen. The bonus is that they will also be clipping his nails which he is not a fan of either.

I get to pick him up later this afternoon and see all his scans and hear the verdict. Joy.

Cocheco Valley Humane Society Rabies Clinic March 27th Dover, NH

2010-03-19T22:40:00.002-04:00

Rabies Clinic

March 27 - 10 AM- 2 PM

$12 for 1 year Vaccine
$15 for 3 year Vaccine
(proof of prior rabies is required in the
form of a rabies certificate)
$35 Microchip

Thank you do Dr. Benedetta Sarno from V.E.S.H.
for volunteering her time!

Please, bring dogs on leashes and cats in carriers!
At this time, we are able to vaccinate dogs and cats only,
no ferrets please!

"Rabies is a threat to our companion animals as well as ourselves. It is a disease caused by a virus found in the saliva of infected animals. The most common carriers of rabies are infected bats, raccoons, foxes, skunks, dogs and cats.

Transmitted to pets and humans by bites, or possibly by contamination of an open cut, treatment to an infected person is critical. Untreated, rabies causes a painful death.

In cooperation with local veterinary partners, CVHS conducts low-cost rabies clinics throughout the year. These clinics help raise awareness and make the cost of the vaccine affordable."

Cocheco Valley Humane Society

Strafford County Complex, 262 County Farm Road, Dover, NH 03820

(603) 749-5322 Fax: (603) 749-3484

email: cvhs@cvhsonline.org

Click here for directions

Need a little help from your friends?

2010-02-19T08:40:00.003-05:00

NHSPCA financial assistance programs for spaying and neutering

Did you know that a kitten can have her first litter at 4 months?

The New Hampshire SPCA has three different plans if you need assistance getting your pet spayed or neutered.

"Fixing" or "Altering" your pet will not only decrease the population of pets in shelters and on the streets, it is beneficial to the health and well being of your pet.

I urge you to step up to the plate and tell the world that you have enough balls for you and your pet.

Don't feel sorry for my boy.

2010-02-17T12:23:00.003-05:00

As more and more people come over to the house and meet our pack of dogs we of course get questions about all of them, where we got them, names, ages, sex, and what is that weird blue looking one? These are questions we are used to answering about our kids, no problem.

Colbert still has his quirks. He doesn't come, or even sit, on command. He barks like an alarm whenever someone new is in the house...for several minutes as if to make sure we know they are there. He sings. His face has gone prematurely white at the age of 3. When we explain about his history of being feral and abused it understandably makes people sad, it still makes me sad. I may call him my Autistic Darling, but please don't feel sorry for our little Corgi.

When we took him on as our first foster in 2007, we did not have a fence and he was a flight risk. He wore a harness 24/7 because it made him easier to get a hold of him. He spent nearly all of his time in a corner of the living room where he could see everything and still get away quickly if need be. Day or night he would also spend this time under a dog bed with just his nose poking out. And this was after he spent a month by himself in his own room with a dogloo to hide in. Keeping him in one room of the house made it easier to spend alone time with him and to catch him for potty breaks or vet visits.

The benefits of having 3 'normal' dogs is that this little Corgi eventually popped out of shell, provided we stayed still and quiet, to play with our other dogs. Buela still being a puppy and wanting to perpetually play and Max being a fetch fiend helped greatly. Even Corona got in on the play action and still does.

Colbert really has come a long way from his beginnings at the shelter; not even wanting to be looked at never mind held fed or loved.

From the Contra Costa Times...makes you think twice.

2010-02-08T23:43:00.005-05:00

This article WILL put you off your lunch.

Definitely something to think about the next time you are in the market for a new family member, and will make you want to be a conscientious organic vegetarian.

Remember, don't shop or buy, while homeless pets die.

click here for full story

Firm gives remains of euthanized pets another use
Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/08/2010 03:36:37 PM PST
Updated: 02/08/2010 03:43:29 PM PST

Tens of thousands of animals are euthanized each year in animal shelters throughout San Bernardino County, but few people realize what becomes of the remains of dogs, cats and other critters.

Animals that aren't adopted after several days are euthanized with injections of sodium pentobarbital, then picked up by D&D Disposal, a firm out of Vernon, near Los Angeles.

Once there, the remains are boiled, ground and processed into animal by-products that are then resold for use in lubricants, polish, soap, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, gelatin and fertilizers, according to a 2004 report by Los Angeles County.

That came as a surprise to some officials at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley, which also contracts with D&D and plans to review the way its remains are handled to ensure the process is consistent with the wishes of people who drop off animals.

"As a Humane Society, we would never consent to allowing the bodies of these precious animals (to be) used in research or any medical uses and research, or certainly not to be re-used in a form of food for any purpose," said Carin Orange, a development coordinator with the local Humane Society who said she was under the impression the remains were cremated.

Many families that turn animals over for humane euthanasia think of the pets as family members and could be upset to discover how the remains are handled, she said.

"Anyone who has loved a pet feels that little body
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is forever a part of their heart, their love, their memories, and it's very disturbing to think they would not be resting in peace in the manner of which they agreed to," Orange said.

County animal control officials said they weren't surprised.

"I've heard of those potential uses for the animals' remains," said Brian Cronin, division chief for San Bernardino County's Animal Care and Control Division. "The reality is that those responsible pet owners who would elect to dispose of their animals through other means can choose to do so."

Owners of euthanized animals can opt to have them cremated or buried at their own expense, Cronin said.

"Unfortunately, for government agencies, this is the most cost-effective option that's available and it's my understanding that's why every other agency uses this service," he said. "In our priorities, we prefer to invest in those animals that are alive and in the shelter and in the community."

Bill Gorman, president of D&D Disposal, said the firm doesn't conduct media interviews and declined to discuss what his company does with animal remains.

But the April 2004 report by Los Angeles County Animal Shelters detailed how euthanized animals are recycled in a process known as "rendering."

"The remains are placed in large vats and heated to a high temperature in excess of 265 degrees Fahrenheit, at which point they become sterile and free of pathogens," the report states. "Then a series of mechanical (processes) occur that separate the fat, liquid and proteins into separate collection systems."

According to the report, every public animal shelter in Southern California pays D&D - also known as West Coast Rendering - to pick up and dispose of euthanized animals.

The firm also handles larger animals like deceased horses and livestock. In some cases, the remains of appropriate animals are processed into feed for livestock, pets or even shrimp.

San Bernardino County pays D&D $13,800 a year to dispose of animals, county officials said. Last year, 16,416 animals visited the county's Devore shelter and 10,350 were euthanized.

At the San Bernardino City Animal Shelter 18,251 animals visited last year and 13,396 were euthanized, said city spokeswoman Heather Gray. San Bernardino spends about $20,000 a year for D&D's services.

State law requires animals brought to a shelter be held at least 72 hours, before being euthanized.

San Bernardino County mandates animals be held at its shelter for at least 96 hours, Cronin said. Dogs and cats that shelter officials feel are highly adoptable are held longer.

Orange, of the local humane society, said the recycling of remains should serve as additional incentive for communities to reduce pet populations in the most humane ways.

"It's a fact that many cats and dogs end up in the shelters and will never be adopted and find a loving home," she said. "That is preventable if people would spay and neuter their pets."

2 years ago today...

2010-02-08T10:14:00.002-05:00

We officially adopted Colbert to stay with us in his forever home. He still has his quirks, but the nightly yodeling sessions and occasion 'meows' make it all worth it.

3 years ago we brought home Buela as well...so yes, 2 years in a row I got puppies for Valentines. Last year I got a washing machine.

Home in NH.

2010-02-05T11:10:00.004-05:00

I love him too.

We have been in NH for nearly two months now. Everyone has settled in and has lost weight from hopping through snow banks. D is 55% of the way through sub school in CT which will make the dogs happier because he will be home during the week instead of 48 hour stints. (D will be happier to be home as well ;])

So what has happened in the last 3 months you ask?

We officially adopted our 10 year old foster, Oreo, on veterans day, fitting since he used to be an USAF dog and is now a USN dog. We have taken to calling him Grandpa, he grumbles like a grandpa, snores like one, and occasionally smells like one, especially when you play "pull my paw" with him. His foreleg has finally healed from the constant anxiety licking, we are just waiting for fur to grow back, and yes, where his fur is black, so is his skin.

This is my couch; damn kids.

Our drive from SC to NH was 'fun' to say the least. Previous snow storms and the upcoming holiday (we started out Dec 22nd) bogged up traffic. We hit lunch traffic in Philly trying to stop and see one of our esteemed rescue contacts Liz Hathaway.

Colbert and Buela in Lizzie's backyard.

In NJ there was an accident so bad that staties made traffic exit in the middle of nowhere causing us to take Rt 1 across...making what was usually a 2 hour drive into 4. Rush hour on the Geo. Washington Bridge in NYC caused me to add facebook to my phone. We finally made it into town around 1 am, and of course I was going by memory and not looking at signs, which was a bad idea seeing as they had flipped the exit around a few weeks before we showed up, a U-Turn with a stretched F150 hauling a trailer is not fun, nor easy. Needless to say the dogs do not look forward to car rides lately ;).

Digging in snow banks and sniffing under the porch are favorite pass times of Buela. Corona likes to blend in with and tromp around through the thickets. Max likes to catch snow balls. Oreo is in sniffer heaven, and since there isn't a fence he as learned the command "Too Far" I am sure the neighbors have too. Poor little Colbert doesn't want to leave the porch at night because of his light phobia.

Buela after digging to China in the snow.

Max catching sight of something small and prey worthy, I love the color of his coat in the sunset.

Mr Handsome, Jr after his bath at K9 Kaos in Dover, NH.

Everyone who comes over tells us how great and well behaved they all are. Everyone wants to steal Corona and or Max. They also want to see Colbert and win him over, I tell them that Colbert doesn't even come to me someday's but they persist. It is good for him.

The girls went to the vets the other day for boosters and general physicals. All their tests came back perfectly normal, despite Roni needing to shed a few pounds and having a faint heart murmur. The Dr said that she has probably had it her entire life, just no one had caught it.

Her favorite place to be, snuggled in bed on my pillow.

D is on his way home for his weekend leave and will be here at 3:30pm EST. Everyone will be so excited, even me. ;)

"I Want To Quit" - In Memory of Joan Fremo.

2009-11-07T19:15:00.004-05:00

I have borrowed this from another rescuer, it rings true for all of us, be forewarned, you may need a tissue. - W

"I post this in memory of Joan, a tireless rescuer, and in honor of every rescue group and member out there who get up tired and go to bed tired. This also is in honor of every foster home, every adopter, every trainer and evaluator, every person who goes into horrible conditions of many shelters to find and pull dogs, every transporter, every person who makes a product for a rescue group to sell, every helper in any way to keep rescue groups and members going, day after day.

Every rescuer has felt exactly this way, our rescue has felt this way, but "And Then". So for all of you who keep us going, who give us hope, who help us, who send a word of appreciation, who stand with us and cry with us, who post for us, who buy things from us to put needed funds in our treasury, we thank you all.
Janet

This was written by the woman who founded PyrAngels, the Great Pyrenees rescue network, who died at home over the weekend. She was a huge resource, a source of inspiration for many, and a very tough act to follow. She will be sorely missed. Her fight goes on----and on------and on, in every rescuer's heart."

"I Want to Quit"

I Want to Quit (This Is What Animal Rescue Is Like) By Joan C. Fremo

I want to quit! My health is bad. There are days I feel so terrible that I can barely move. My phone bills are outrageous, and I could have replaced my van with the funds I have spent these last 3 years---on animals that were not my own.

I want to quit! I spend hours and hours emailing about dogs. There may be 500 messages when I start---and at 4 AM, when I finally shut down the computer, there are still 500 emails to be read.

I want to quit! Gosh, I haven't the time left to email my friends. I can't remember the last book I read, and I gave up my subscription to my local newspaper--- I used to enjoy reading it, cover to cover, but now it often ends up in the bottom of the squirrel's cage---unread.

I want to quit! I've spent days emailing what seems like everyone---trying to find a foster home, help for a dog languishing in a shelter---but his time has run out, and the shelter has had to euthanize to make room for the next sad soul.

I want to quit! I swear, I walk away from my computer to stretch my legs---let the dogs out---and come back to find another dog in desperate need. There are times I really dread checking my email. How will I find the funds, the help, to save yet another dog?

I want to quit! I save one dog, and two more take its place. Now an owner who doesn't want his dog---it won't stay in his unfenced yard. An intact male wanders... This bitch got pregnant by a stray... This 3-month-old pup killed baby chicks.. The dog got too big... This person's moving and needs to give up his pet. I ask you, friends---what town, what city, what state doesn't allow you to own a pet?

I want to quit! I just received another picture, another sad soul with tormented eyes that peer out of a malnourished body. I hear whimpering in my sleep, have nightmares for days...

I want to quit! Many of the "Breed People" don't seem to want to hear about these dogs. Breeders either don't realize, or just don't care, how many dogs of their breed are dying in shelters.

I want to quit! I just got off the phone. "Are you Pyr Rescue? We want to adopt a male to breed to our female." How many times do I have to explain? I have tried to explain about genetics, about health and pedigrees. I explain that rescues NEUTER! I usually end up sobbing, as I explain about the vast numbers of animals dying in shelters across the country, as I describe the condition many of these animals are found in. I wonder if they really heard me...

I want to quit! It is not like I don't have enough rescues of my own to worry about---but others have placed dogs improperly and aren't there to advise the new owners.

I want to quit! There ARE some unscrupulous rescues out there---hoarders, collectors, and folks who will short change the care of the animals to make a dollar. They save them all, regardless of temperament, putting fellow rescuer's and adopters at risk by not being truthful.

I want to quit! I have trusted the wrong people--- had faith and heart broken...

I want to quit! AND THEN... My dog, Magnus, lays his head in my lap, he comforts me with his gentle presence---and the thought of his cousins suffering stirs my heart.

I want to quit! AND THEN... One of those 500 emails is from an adopter. They are thanking me for the most wonderful dog on earth---they cannot imagine life without their friend---their life is changed, and they are so grateful.

I want to quit! AND THEN... One of my adopted Rescues has visited a nursing home. A patient that has spent the last few years unable to communicate, not connecting-- -Lifts his hand to pat the huge head in his lap, softly speaks his first words in ages--- to this gentle furchild.

I want to quit! AND THEN... A Good Samaritan has found and vetted a lost baby, "I can't keep him, but I'll take care of him until you find his forever home."

I want to quit! AND THEN... "Jamie took his first steps holding on to our Pyr." "Joan, you should see this dog nursing this hurt kitten!" "I was so sick, Joan, and he never left my side..."

I want to quit! AND THEN... I get an email from a fellow rescuer, "Haven't heard from you in a while---you OK? You know I think of you..."

I want to quit! AND THEN... A dozen rescuers step up to help, to transport, to pull, and to offer encouragement. I have friends I have never seen, but we share tears, joys, and everything in between. I am not alone I am blessed with family of the heart, my fellow Rescuers. Just days ago it was a friend who shared her wit and wisdom, whose late night email lifted my heart. Sometimes it is friends who only have time to forward you a smile.

Often, it is my friends who forward me the notices of dogs in need. There are Rescuers who see a flailing transport and do everything they can do find folks to pull it together for you. Rescuers who'll overnight or foster your Dog while you seek transport. There are Rescuers not used to or comfortable with your breed, but who put aside their discomfort to help.

There are Rescuers whose words play the music of our hearts. Foster homes that love your Rescue, and help to make them whole again---body and spirit.

Foster homes that fit your baby in, though it may not be their breed. Rescuers whose talents and determination give us tools to help us. Rescuers we call on for help in a thousand ways, who answer us, who hear our pleas. Rescuers who are our family, our strength, our comrades in battle.

I know I cannot save every Pyr in need. I know my efforts are a mere drop in a sea. I know that if I take on just one more---those I have will suffer.

I want to quit! But I won't. When I feel overwhelmed, I'll stroke my Magnus's head while reading my fellow Rescuers emails. I'll cry with them, I'll laugh with them---and they will help me find the strength to go on.

I want to quit! But not today. There's another email, another dog needing Rescue.

This piece is dedicated, with love and gratitude, to all my fellow Rescuers.

Joan

We Salute YOU!

2009-10-09T17:57:00.001-04:00

Today the one of the pets at Pet Helpers (where we fostered and adopted Colbert from) that was adopted out was Truthiness.

Good luck to Truthiness and all the other pets that were adopted today in their new homes.

Happy Day!

Mr Oreo and the Low Country Pet Expo.

2009-10-08T11:18:00.003-04:00

What?

Soon as I got out his new collar and bandana and had them on him he was bouncing around the house with bonafide zoomies. He is a very funny dog when it comes to getting to go outside all dressed up...maybe he will pose in a party collar with no problem.

Mr. Handsome made some friends at the expo, it was in a super little room and very crowded, not really conducive to that many big and tiny dogs with questionable training.

Anyone who recognized the Aussie in him was right up on me telling me bout the ACD or Shep they used to have, what great dogs they are, and how smart they are.

The old biddies loved his super soft bunny fur and his cow spots. He was super excited, so he was pulling more than usual, there were a few barks on his side. But over all it went really well.

I did however have one person ask me what I did to my Dalmation. haha.

Didn't get to hand out any fliers, no one was really that interested beyond figuring out what kind of dog he was. They usually disappeared after I mentioned he was for adoption through CACDR&R . And I didn't even tell anyone how old he was.

He had fun though, that is the most important part. And thanks go to Crystal and Jet for meeting me there and hanging out with us.

You don't have to foster to helps a pet in need.

2009-09-26T02:58:00.003-04:00

Have you ever thought that you would REALLY like to help all those animals in rescues ans shelters, but do not think that you could foster for fear of keeping all the animals that cross your threshold? Here is a list of tasks that you can do in a relatively short amount of time that would be of great service to both the rescue you work with and most importantly the life of the dog (or cat ;] ).

Start with finding a rescue for one of your favorite breeds, as many of you know D and I help a few ACD rescues, as well as a local shelter with special cases. A quick google search (example: "Corgi NH Rescue" brings up quite a few) will aid you in finding rescues near you to assist, just call one up and ask if you can help, many will jump at the chance to let you do something for them.
_____________________________________
There are so many volunteer tasks that are important pieces in the rescue puzzle. Each piece, put together, help needy dogs find their forever homes. Below is a list of "other" tasks that are so very valuable to the "big picture" of rescue.

How Much Time Will You Have To Dedicate?
It's really up to you. You can spend as little or as much time as you are able. Since we are all volunteers, we have busy lives outside of rescue. Often just a few hours of "help" makes a big difference. We always welcome new additions to our rescue family!

What Will You Be Asked To Do?
There are many tasks associated with rescue. Some require a larger time commitment, others only a few hours per month (or less) Here are some examples:

Visit a dog in a shelter: Confirm the dog is of the breed the rescue specializes in, evaluate their temperament, interaction with you, general manners, knowledge of basic commands and how well they behave on lead.

Time commitment: Depending on the location of the shelter, this task can take under an hour.

Call a vet for a reference: Rescue's must have a veterinarian's reference for each applicant. They simply need to know if any current/past pets are current on vaccines and receive regular veterinary care. Determine if there are any glaring concerns.

Time commitment: These calls generally take 5 minutes.

Evaluate a new surrender: When we get a call from an owner who wishes to surrender their dog for adoption, rescues need volunteers to "visit" the family and evaluate the dog, take photos, etc.

Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.

Contact a potential adopter: When a rescue receives a new application from someone wishing to adopt a one of their pets, they review the application carefully. They speak with them to get a feel for their knowledge of the breed, their family dynamic, their experience with dog ownership, etc. We ask questions about fencing, other animals in residence and cover any "red flags" that appear in the application.

Time commitment: The length of each call will vary.

Home visits: Visit the home of a potential adopter. Meet the family members and any current pets in residence. Evaluate fencing, lifestyle, proximity to a busy street, confirm all family members are on board, etc. Essentially, you are simply trying to determine whether this is a home in which you would place your own dog.

Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.

Transport a dog from a shelter to foster home: If a dog is accepted into foster care from a shelter, they often need to be removed from the shelter and transported to their foster home.

Time commitment: Depending on location, this may take a few hours at the most.

__________________________

Of course, we are always in need of foster homes. Sometimes even just for a few nights to a week until transport can be arranged to another foster location. So, even if you are not able to commit to a longer-term foster situation, a short-term "spot" for a dog is often all that is needed in order to pull from a shelter (to save them from being euthanized), arrange vet care and transport to another location.

***Courtesy the German Short Hair Pointer Rescue via Facebook. www.gsprescue.org/contact.html

Up and Down

2009-08-06T16:25:00.003-04:00

We thought that we had a home for Oreo, but unfortunately the prospect changed their mind. So we still have 5 dogs in the house.

On that note, I thought I would share this, it is one of those forward along to whomever things...I edited all the pass it on to 20 people junk and give you the essentials:

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me.. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

Ruphus.

2009-06-19T15:15:00.002-04:00

Ruphus is Colbert's litter brother. Donovan found his adoptive owner (mom) on facebook. She had photos of all five of the Corgi pups when they were first brought to the shelter.

Kenya, Sudan behind her, Colbert, Chad, and Ruphus.

Colbert and Ruphus.

Ruhphus and mom Kristyn.

Doing the Colbert crawl/stretch

Handsome little stud.

Many thanks go to Kristyn for posting these to facebook, and adopting Ruphus. We have had a few messages back and forth and they both have some of the same quirks, sleeping under blankets, fears of thunder storms, and initial dislike of car rides.

FAQ's and Updates

2009-06-15T11:42:00.003-04:00

Who is Colbert?

Colbert is our first and failed foster. He was feral and abused. He is still afraid of many things, lights at nights, strangers, and sirens freak him out a little bit.

He sings to us, and we sing back.

He sleeps on his side and his leg falls asleep.

We tell him he has furry hobbit feet and that he is getting a lion cut this summer if he keeps (whatever it is he is doing) up. (he's not going to get one...we promise)

The first few months we had him he lived in his own room by himself holed up in a dogloo not wanting anything to do with us, regardless of what we had to offer, and we tried everything from rawhides to dog food and treats including chicken, beef, and bacon.

He still doesn't come up to us unless we are lying down on the couch or in bed, and even then you'd better not make any sudden movements.

He LOVES butt scratches, even better if you rub his whole body with your foot (feet cannot grab like hands can, or they smell better?).

He emits what I call the Colbert funk when you pick him up. What's up with that?

He prefers my husband over me.

And yes, he is named after Stephen T Colbert.

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The Ruby trip over Memorial Weekend went smoothly, only spent 2 hours sitting in Baltimore. Spent the night at Lizzie's house, met her awesome kids and super laid back cattle dogs (they make Buela look like she's mainlining Red Bull) then off to Concord and a few day at home with the family for my mom's 65th birthday.

You can find the Ruby Trip thread at AuCaDo...
http://www.aucado.us/forums/showthread.php?t=18022

Her rescue thread is here:
http://www.aucado.us/forums/showthread.php?t=16884

You may need to sign up for a membership to view the threads, but if you are into rescue and the like there is a great setup for cattle dog rescue and they do do cross posting for other breeds if needed as well.

My view in the rear view mirror:

Finally passed out:

A happy little one eyed Ruby:

Ruby, Ruby: Ruby, Ruby SOHO!

2009-05-21T20:50:00.003-04:00

Everything is ready, have my directions, road atlas (like I'll need it), suitcase, crate, dog bag, some trash bags and paper towels for the shelter, half of the phone numbers from people on aucado and the ever important cell charger and iPod.

Just have to check the air in my tires with hubby (never done it before, I had mechanic brothers to do this for me in NH), take a shower, and go to bed. (which will be within the hour)...

Just what am I doing? I am going to be picking up a tagalong in North Carolina on the way. Ruby is a blue heeler or Aussie Cattle Dog. She is going to foster home, and seeing as I was going I offered my services. I will pick her up bout 9 am tomorrow. Then off to meet her new foster mom in Concord round 10:30 am, Saturday.

Pictures to come!

Think good thoughts and enjoy your friday cuz I will!

That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me!

2009-05-01T22:28:00.004-04:00

So I have been announced the winner of the best on Blogspot's Animal/Pets category.

I was also randomly chosen to receive advertising on the parent site...which means I will be highlighting dogs in need.

If you have a dog you are having a rough time placing, leave a comment about your dog, or a link to their dogster/petfinder page.

Again thank you!

-Wendy

The Cat Saga.

2009-04-18T09:11:00.005-04:00

I know it's definitely not dog related or foster related, but it is rescue and adoption related.

For about 2 months+ I had been emailing with Our Lady of Mercy's Catnip Cottage of Summerville about a FIV (Feline Aids) positive cat named Rocky. I was VERY interested. Sadly, because of the fact that I cannot screen in my porch because of HOA rules and he has been placed as a sanctuary cat due to cyclical side effects of his illness, Rockefeller (as I referred to him), is not meant to be at the Hixson house.

I have however, found an all black female at Doc Williams ASPCA, which is where we adopted Corona and where Max originally came from as a 10 week old puppy, she even came to the word come, now that is a cat I can deal with. Her name is Duchess, but I don't know how (Princess) Corona would deal with another royal in the house.

I have to drag D down to see her and see if he will begrudgingly give in. haha.

Back on the grid. (Picture alert!)

2009-04-09T13:15:00.003-04:00

So we were without a pc for a little over a week due to a pooped out memory card. And here we are again with some new pictures and adventures.

A lazy Sunday afternoon after yard work and the park:

As promised here is the elusive Colbert on film being a goof:

"Curses! Foiled again!"

Took Oreo to the vets today as his ears are still gunked up. Again we had the wonderful Dr. Jones (who treated Dixie for her heart worm), Oreo was given an allergy shot and had a sample of his gunk taken to be looked at. His sample contained both yeastie beasties and some bacteria. So we have a new round of drops and a follow up in two weeks.

"I hear them talking bout me behind that door"

"What is it with you and that infernal camera? On your cell phone too?!"

"I bumped the door with my butt and there was a noise, I must now check out that noise!"

In all he was the happiest dog I have ever taken to the vet. Lots of new smells, people, and dogs. And yes, he is definitely a puller when he sees something he wants.

Overall, he's a very healthy & handsome old man.

So, want to adopt a tall dark and handsome cattle dog mix for your home?

While you are there...

2009-03-24T07:01:00.004-04:00

Vote for my friend Jackie's blog too. Her's is under the humor section and called Yellow Dog Grannie.

Here is a link to her actual blog, and a parental warning...sometimes her language just isn't for the youngins.

Best blog on blogspot.

2009-03-23T08:51:00.003-04:00

So I have entered a little contest here on blogspot.com. I have entered this blog about the in and outs of our fosters and Mr. Colbert to be voted as the best Animal/Pet blog on the site.

If you'd like to vote or even just check out the other animal related blogs entered or add you own and see the other categories, click here.

Thanks!

PS: Oreo is doing fine, and so is everyone else! I also caught Colbert playing with Max on film...more on that later.

2 Weeks.

2009-03-21T11:47:00.003-04:00

That is how long Oreo has been with us.

Right before coming to us his allergies flared up again and he now has infections in both ears and his legs and belly are showing pink through his fur. He gets a pill each day as well a supplements in his food and daily ear washings.

He is a very good dog, even if he does have an affinity for checking out Max regularly in the ways that dogs do. He has come to relax and claim a spot on the couch. He keeps to himself usually. However, Buela, who was the most stand offish in the beginning, is now making attempts to befriend him. A hazing period I suppose. In her usual mother hen fashion, she is licking his face and likes to pay attention to his scaly ears and pink toes. I cannot tell if this bothers him or not however.

He does like to do as he pleases, especially when it comes to relinquishing his spot on the bed, couch, or floor to a two legged type. Time will tell.

He doesn't know how to play fetch at all and hates having his photo taken, particularly with a flash. He inhales food and likes to clean other puppies bowls for them.

There was someone interested in him, CACDR&R has contacted them, but nothing has come of it yet. Time will tell.

D calls him a reverse Dalmatian. Oh and the elusive happy face photo has yet to occur. However looking at all the photos of him in the picture viewer...kinda makes you go cross eyed. haha.

Photos from his first day:

Almost a happy face...

Holsteiny goodness...

Buela being her usual charming self.

Look out for Mrs Stork...a new foster is coming!

2009-03-10T20:34:00.005-04:00

Look a fussy lip!

Mel from Carolina ACD Rescue and Rebound to coming to see us Sunday, with our new foster ACD/Aussie ShepX, Oreo.

He is a 9 year old owner surrender by a military family that was sent to Japan (or Korea, I cannot remember at the moment). He has food allergies, since a change in his diet his yeast and ear infections have just about completely subsided. He apparently is an absolute lover, and Corona will have competition for belly rubs and kissy face time. We get to train him on sit, down, stay, etc and leash manners. Should be a piece of cake.

This will be our first time fostering a male though since Colbert. Hopefully it will go smoothly. I look forward to getting some happy face shots of him and finding him a new home.

His petfinder page: Oreo

Why we foster...

2009-02-28T23:33:00.002-05:00

Or rather, why we started.

We as many know, are Cesar people, this meaning that we using the methodology of Cesar Milan when it comes to training dogs. And for those that don't like him, well sorry, but it works for us. And when it comes to training, there is a vast difference tween a full out alpha roll and making your dog go into a "sit, down" until it calms a little. And only retards actually full out kicks their dogs. It's called a tap for a reason, just enough to get attention, either on you or off whatever your dog is staring at.

With that said, Cesar's mission is to rehabilitate dogs that no one wants; abused, fearful, aggressive, unsocialized, feral, you name it he takes them and "fixes" both the dogs and their respective owners bad behaviors.

That was our inspiration. That and Colbert himself.

We had gone to Pet Helpers to fill out papers to adopt a male pit puppy. We of course also checked out all the other dogs at the shelter, knowing that they, despite the shelters staff and volunteers, probably didn't get all the human attention/affection they deserved and needed to be properly socialized. In the very last kennel was a seemingly empty yard and a dogloo. Squeezed tightly up against the inside of this dogloo were two scared puppies. One was Zambia, soon to become Colbert, and the other was his brother Sudan.

On the drive home we talked about names for the pit puppy should we get him. We tossed around geographical names from the West Coast; Zion, Canyon, Sutter. Nearly home, I suddenly yelled out "Colbert". Donovan smirked, and I knew it was good.

We didn't get the pit pup, but that woeful corgi pup named Zambia had definitely struck a cord with my softie husband. Feral, abused, having to fight for food from his brother, he was determined to recuperate him. After applying and going through the shelters fostering workshop, and some careful debate skills on convincing the head of fosters that we could do it regardless of the fact that we did not have a fenced yard, D came home with a 14 pound 5 month old puppy.

The rest is chronicled here. I guess that the simple explanation, but definitely how it happened.

LoL Dogs Stumbles Style.

2009-02-15T18:01:00.004-05:00

Nothing new here...going to do a home visit for Tennessee Valley Cattle Dog Rescue next week, I will post more on that later, and why we even bothered to get into rescue and fostering. But here are some of my favorite LOL Dogs of the moment.

Just Funny...

This is me everyday I drive to work.

A daily occurrence at the Hixson House.

This too.

Donovan...

Please always do.

This too.

Sports Illustrated

2009-01-12T10:13:00.004-05:00

This was an article that ran in the December 22, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated, it continues on for another 5 'pages'.

Some of Vicks dogs have been rehabilitated, more proof that BSL's are crap. And I have been bitten by a dog that is one of the ones targeted by BSL's. I have the ER bills to prove it. It makes me want to get a pit just to prove all the sissies in the world they are wrong.

Here is the link to a photo gallery of his tortured dogs that have been fostered or adopted out to new homes. Yes, rehomed pit bulls.

And yes, I did notice that quite a few of the dogs in the gallery are females, females are fought as well, they aren't just puppy machines.

What happened to Michael Vick's dogs ...

By Jim Gorant
December 29, 2008 issue.

Since being rescued 20 months ago from the dogfighting ring financed by Michael Vick, all but a few of the abused pit bulls have been recovering in sanctuary, foster care and adoptive homes. Now even the most traumatized of them can have a happy new year.

The dog approaches the outstretched hand. Her name is Sweet Jasmine, and she is 35 pounds of twitchy curiosity with a coat the color of fried chicken, a pink nose and brown eyes. She had spent a full 20 seconds studying this five-fingered offering before advancing. Now, as she moves forward, her tail points straight down, her butt is hunched toward the ground, her head is bowed, her ears pinned back. She stands at maybe three quarters of her height.

She gets within a foot of the hand and stops. She licks her snout, a sign of nervousness, and looks up at the stranger, seeking assurance. She looks back to the hand, licks her snout again and begins to extend her neck. Her nose is six inches away from the hand, one inch, half an inch. She sniffs once. She sniffs again. At this point almost any other dog in the world would offer up a gentle lick, a sweet hello, an invitation to be scratched or petted. She's come so far. She's so close.

But Jasmine pulls away.

PETA wanted Jasmine dead. Not just Jasmine, and not just PETA. The Humane Society of the U.S., agreeing with PETA, took the position that Michael Vick's pit bulls, like all dogs saved from fight rings, were beyond rehabilitation and that trying to save them was a misappropriation of time and money. "The cruelty they've suffered is such that they can't lead what anyone who loves dogs would consider a normal life," says PETA spokesman Dan Shannon. "We feel it's better that they have their suffering ended once and for all." If you're a dog and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals suggests you be put down, you've got problems. Jasmine has problems.

Things Colbert is still afraid of or stressed out by:

2009-01-11T16:06:00.008-05:00

Any moving lights, particularly at night. This includes but is not limited to: Laserpens or pointers; flashlights; headlights reflecting on the walls; camera flashes

The sound of my digital camera turning on, presumably because he knows that a flash will result.

New people in the house.

The vet's office, it could be just the smell or sounds, we do not know. None of our other three have any issues with the vet's whatsoever.

Not having a place to hide.

Sleeping uncovered.

Being held.

Sirens, he starts howling with them and heads for cover.

When we go after him to put a leash on him at walk time.

Me.

Ban Michael Vick from the NFL for life.

2009-01-07T14:30:00.003-05:00

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-NFL-from-reinstating-MichaelVick

The goal of this Petition to the NFL to stop Michael Vick / Ookie from ever, EVER, being allowed to play football for millions again. We need 100,000 signatures and so far there is only 5,846 signatures. We MUST show the NFL that there are at least this many people that would be angered if Vick were allowed to walk right back into his old life after killing dogs for 8 years! There is a story on WSB TV with the Petition information. Roger Goodell will be paying attention and this Petition does matter! Cross post and sign with your NAME, proudly.

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This excuse of a man should be sitting in jail like he deserves, what he really should be doing is serving a year for every dog he had a part in harming, alive or dead. And be sentenced to quite a bit of time working in shelters after wards. He makes me sick.

So go and sign it, I did, hell I have probably signed it twice by now.

And in case you missed it, here is my original blog on Vicktory Dogs.

http://colbertreport07.blogspot.com/2008/11/vicktory-nonetheless.html

A year in review: it's a biggie.

2008-12-31T16:44:00.014-05:00

It seems like 2008 has flown by, course, they also say that the older you get in years, the faster time goes because it becomes a smaller percentage of your lifetime.

I've decided to post a retrospect.

October of 07 we took Colbert in as our first foster. He also became our first failed foster, or FF as it is known on some forums I am on, in February of 08. I quickly thereafter spent 3 days on the couch with the flu from hell. But Corona was happy that she got unlimited cuddle time.

Around St. Patrick's day, there was a stray kitten who came right on up to me as soon as I called him. I named him Dean Martin, gave him a bath, put up fliers, brushed him out and removed the matts on his head. Poor guy looked like he'd been knocked around a few times. No one in the area claimed him, so I posted his cute little face on Craigslist and someone from Walterboro came and picked him up.

After months of the shelter stalling on getting Kenya's eye surgery done,we offered to foster her in March so that she would have a clean house in which to convalesce. She also snuck up on D and got out of the house. She was eating from a bowl on the back patio each night until D corralled her in the corner of the yard. That was for my birthday in April.

The first of May Donovan and I made like little kids and ran off to the court house to get married. We then took the pups to the dog park and let them run til their tongues hung out.

Also in May, one of Colbert's brothers, Sudan, who had been adopted out, got away from his owner and consequently run over by a car. Makes me want to stress how important having a harness on flight risk dogs is.

In June we returned Kenya to the shelter for her to be adopted out. Colbert went with Donovan to drop her off. Colbert apparently still has memories of being there because he immediately looked for a place to hide and curled into an inconsolable ball.

Also in June/July we had two surprise fosters. One was Bindi, a cattle dog that we held for two weeks through Blue Crush Rescue. Bindi now has a forever home in Illinois, but is having some behavioral issues with resource guarding, they are trying to work it out.

The other was Barnaby, who I had thought was the neighbors dog loose again, but was a stray that no one wanted to claim. Big, gangly, and goofy, we kept him for the weekend and then had to call animal control.

We had a few weeks off until Donovan saw Dixie's story on AuCaDo in August. Heart worm positive and turned into a shelter. We offered to foster her and get her through her medicine. She turned out to be highly submissive to humans, to the point of peeing. A huge cuddle bug, if you needed a bed warmer, Dixie was your gal.

In November I picked up yet another gray cat in the back yard. This one was named Jack and had a number on him and everything. I called the number, because the tag said "please call". Jack's owner told me he was an outside cat and that I could just let him go and it would be fine. I promptly told her that the people that live in this subdivision drive like idiots with no concern for people, never mind a gray cat at night. I also told her that his eye was weeping and his ear cauliflowered. She was not amused. She even called back the next day, after I released him, to see if we kept him because he hadn't come home yet.

Yesterday we returned Dixie to Blue Crush. She has some fear aggression, and didn't want to leave D. She looked back twice possible three times, I am sure she whined for him too. They are getting her a behaviorist to help her through her timidness so that she can find a home too.

An update on Colbert:
When we started fostering him he was 8 months old and 14 lbs. He is now 25 months and 22 lbs. His face is slowly turning white in the most distinguished old dog way, even though he isn't one. He sings and talks to us. He loves fetch with his red kong and still makes forts of pillows and blankets under which to sleep, which you can see above, that is him this afternoon with my lap blanket. He even has special pillows just for him because I am a softie. He has started to lay out in the middle of the living room, where he can see everyone, but still relaxed and hanging out with us. He will occasionally hop up onto the ottoman, where he knows we'd have to move to grab him, but close enough to get a beloved butt scratch. Still no cuddle time. He will get on the opposite couch and smell everything and lay down with a treat. But that is about it. Oh and he lets me play with him and his kong, but we'd have to be laying down or sitting on the floor. But as always, he is my handsome little boy.

Failure to launch

2008-12-29T09:48:00.004-05:00

So yesterday was Dixie's visit with prospective parents. As you can see from the title, not so much.

She does have an issue with meeting people and wanting to protect who ever is holding the leash. Once she gets over that she is her adorable love bug self. Just needs some training. They weren't too crazy about that idea. However, they would have taken my handsome boy Max in a heart beat I think.

I will be driving her to Newberry, SC to meet up with Martha tomorrow, and give her back to Blue Crush. Hopefully being closer to HQ will find her a home quicker. There apparently are some people interested in her anyhow, plus Martha has another slot lined up for January on the local news which has a certain day that show cases animals in need of a home.

------------

A note on taking in any new dog, adopted or (shudder) purchased, they will always need training to meet your standards. Some people don't mind when their dogs like to talk, others cannot stand knowing when the neighbor walks by to check their mail. TRAINING!!

-----------------
This is "The Dixie Report" that Donovan typed up:

December 24, 2008

Dixie Report

We took her in because she tested positive for heartworm. We were to be her calm, quiet environment while she went through the heartworm treatment—the goal to minimize her physical activity. This was an uphill battle with Dixie in a perpetually playful mood; instigating bouts with anyone willing. Oh, did I mention she likes to bark…

She’s a very mouthy girl. She vocalizes everything. Sometimes it’s a normal, “Hey, there’s another dog barking.” Other times it’s, “Hey, someone’s walking by the house,” or “Hey, I’m going this way now.” So if you dislike barking, then you are in store for a relationship built on compromise. It’s not constant, it’s chronic.

Sweet, affectionate, playful…she has many good qualities. She can be easily trained—just use food. She is highly motivated by food. If you look at her like a 5 year old child, then she’s easier to endure. Likewise, she can be entertained by almost any manner of play—be creative.

It’s been very amusing to watch her learn how to play fetch and catch. She loves it. She’s also an explorer; she has no recognition of property lines. She’ll dart off the second you turn away to go learn about the neighborhood. She doesn’t understand “Come” yet.

Her background, as much as is known, is that she was left outside on a large lot alone almost continuously. This hands-off approach to dog care being the root cause to her exposure and contraction of heartworm. This also resulted in her being semi-anti-social. As far as we knew for a long time was that she was simply not human-savvy, so we worked on her manners (keeping her distance while we eat, giving everyone their personal space). As she encountered more strangers we observed her behaving confused and insecure, showing itself as sudden barks and a motion of her head as though she’s trying to snap at the person but she’s not serious about it. It’s a convincing show, though. It took her the entire 5 days my parents came to visit us in November until the night before they left for her to warm up to my mother and sit with her on the sofa.

She’s exhibited these outbursts with neighbors and everyone whom she doesn’t know. She’s pretty good with strange dogs, but she’s not wholly stable herself. So if the newly introduced dog isn’t perfect, then expect some tension and negative behavior.

A more serious issue she’s developed over the past two weeks is aggressive confrontation with the other dogs of the pack. It appears to be motivated by possessiveness. She’s been getting too much cuddle time during the day and access to the bed during the night. She starts fights that are only a couple notches down from a genuine intention to injure. As a result we’ve had to keep them separated during the day while we’re away at work.

As corrective actions we’ve aligned all of our actions to convey to her that she’s not the top dog on the list. After I mix the wet food with the dry every night with a spoon or fork, she’s the last to lick the utensil. Her food bowl is the last to be placed on the floor. She’s the last to receive a treat. It’s made a noticeable difference—she’s getting the point.

Dixie has grown quite attached to us. So she will very likely be morose for some time after she leaves our home that’s been hers for about 4 months. She will make an excellent companion for anyone willing put forth a little effort to mold her behavior.

Oh Crappy Day!

2008-12-10T23:09:00.003-05:00

I have good news and I have bad news.

Good News: There is someone so interested in Dixie that they want to meet her Saturday night and possibly pick her up for Christmas!!

Bad news: Kenya has passed on.

-------------------------

Kenya was Colbert's sister, feral, neglected and abused. She was a foster in our house for nearly 4 months as she recovered from cherry eye. She was the first foster that we actually returned.

She got out of her new parent's grasp and was hit by a car recently.

She was such a sweet baby. I knew that eventually she would be the best little dog for someone. She had just gotten so that she would take a treat from my hand if I was laying on the floor. Sometimes if I didn't move around too much, she would lay at the foot of the bed and snooze with Buela after wreaking havoc for a few minutes after Donovan left for work.

She had this crazy purple tongue that she would let hang out while she pranced and pounced in the living room. And an almost cauliflowered ear on her left side. And the most beautiful wheat blonde fur.

It almost makes me wish that we had kept her.

It makes me so mad, and want to stress to all owners that if your animal has a history of skittishness to ALWAYS keep a collar, leash, harness on them so that you CAN retrieve them. But even I know that with such things, immediate capture isn't possible. We didn't take the collar off Colbert until sometime late this summer. But if we didn't have a pack that he belonged to and came back with, he would probably still be wearing one.

We will see you when we see you my darling.

2008-12-01T22:58:00.005-05:00

Look I'm cute!

Look I'm really cute!

Even though I take weird pictures when I hear the camera. I'm CUTE!

------------------------------------------------------------------

I would like everyone to cross their available appendages, someone is interested in meeting Dixie for adoption.

Yay!!!

A Vicktory nonetheless.

2008-11-15T22:31:00.005-05:00

This is a blog that I posted on my MySpace page, but I figured it belonged here too.

Dixie and crew are doing well, Dixie will be on the local news station pet spotlight in December so we are really hoping that it finds her a great 'furever' home in time for Christmas, and that, I think, would be just awesome.

Side Note: I do NOT condone the giving of live animals as presents for any reason without careful consideration for the animals welfare and several visits to local shelters to see what will happen to that ball of fluff once it becomes un-cute.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&pop=1&indicate=1

True not a real blog, but kind of makes me feel better knowing that he truly has ruined his life forever and that his pits are getting what they deserve: a better life.
However I think his ass needs to stay in the clink a bit longer, 'tis only just seeing as what he has done to promote the ugliness of the breed. The ugliness which is just the mirroring of the ugliness of the owner. Remember, all things are a reflection of their creator.

Also remember that every one of those Vicktory dogs and many hundreds of thousands of other pits all started out life like every other dog on the planet, harmelss, defenseless, yowling balls of fluff and infinite cuteness.

These two pits are actual Vicktory dogs, the others I cannot verify.

(There are several other photos posted in the myspace blog as well as a photo of my favorite pit Dook. Who belongs to one of my very dear friends mother. The rest of the blog post continues from here)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-timdahlberg-111508&prov=ap&type=lgns

Vick wants to play, but what team would risk it?

By TIM DAHLBERG, AP Sports Columnist 7 hours, 34 minutes ago

A race horse he bought for $60,000 died of colic, the Atlanta Falcons are still trying to hit him up for millions they paid him, and the IRS and the state of Georgia want nearly $1 million in back taxes.

In 2006 he made nearly $15 million. Recently he reported total income of $12.89 for an entire month.

That's $12.89 as in 12 dollars and 89 cents. This from someone who, before things went terribly bad, categorized a $1,000 check to his mother as "chump change."

The numbers are cold, but they have to warm the heart of any animal lover sickened by what once went on at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels. To many, seeing Vick stripped of the material things he and his fellow millionaire athletes like to enjoy is almost as good as watching him go to prison in the first place.

Best of all, the dogs who survived the terror of Vick's dogfighting ring are having the last laugh.

They're the stars of a recent National Geographic Channel television special. They live in comfort in a Utah ranch, thanks to $928,000 Vick agreed to contribute to finance their care.

And now they have their own wine.

Yes, there's Meryl, looking anything but ferocious on a bottle of Syrah. And there's Lewis, peeking out from the front of another Vicktory Dog bottle.

Maybe Vick can pick up a $40 bottle when he gets out of prison next July, assuming things go as planned. If he's careful about not spending his prison earnings in the commissary, he could be paroled with enough to buy a couple of them.

He shouldn't drink too much, though. Because he's still got some football to play.

Buried in the hundreds of pages of paper detailing Vick's financial woes the other day in federal bankruptcy court was the declaration that not only does Vick expect to be reinstated in the NFL upon his release but also believes he will "be able to earn a substantial living" playing quarterback once again.

Good luck with that.

Just what team he believes will employ him to do so wasn't mentioned, but the Falcons are surely out. They severed their ties with the quarterback they once were sure would lead them to a Super Bowl and are now being led by a quarterback who has been so good in his rookie season that he just might.

Vick is supposed to be released July 20, so he could be out just in time for the opening of preseason camps. But how many teams are so desperate for a quarterback that they would risk the ire of PETA-types and other animal activists to sign an ex-con who admitted to doing some heinous things?

The other question is how much would they risk for a quarterback who has a career passing rating of 75.7, fumbles the ball once every 10 times he carries it, and hasn't played a down in two years. Quarterbacks who could run were once the rage in the NFL, but most teams today look for the traditional pocket passer.

If a team did take a chance on Vick, it would likely be for little or no guaranteed money with incentives kicking in only if he produces—something that can never be certain in the NFL, where injuries and age can quickly take their toll. Even then, Vick won't keep all his salary because under his bankruptcy plan he must pay part of any future earnings to creditors.

Indeed, Vick's financial mess is as much a cautionary tale to his fellow athletes as his criminal woes are.

He has assets of $16 million but owes creditors $20.3 million. His attorneys had to hire forensic accountants to find out where the money went, $18 million of it over the last two years alone as Vick bounced from one business deal to another and seemed to hire financial advisers he met standing in line at the supermarket.

Flush with bonus money from the Falcons, Vick bought houses by the handful, invested in a rental car franchise in Atlanta and poured money into a liquor store and restaurant. He hired friends, gave away money and cars, and could never say no to his mother, who got $700 for an Easter Egg hunt one year and $317,000 for a new church building the next.

Now he sits in a prison in Kansas after a staggering and quick fall from the top. Once a favorite of fans who couldn't buy enough of his No. 7 jerseys he's now vilified and hated by millions who will never forgive the despicable things he and his buddies did to their dogs.

A comeback is still possible, but my guess is that this story will not end well. Upon his release from prison, the odds are Vick will spend more time dodging creditors than defensive linemen.

The dogs are a different story. Those that survived will live in comfort the rest of their lives.

And for that, we should all raise a glass of Lewis red in celebration.

Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org

As many have said, blame the deed not the breed. And finally,

Don't shop; ADOPT.

jesus already.

The Daily Coyote.

2008-11-08T11:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.dailycoyote.net/

I have known about this site for a while. It is a blog by a person who took in a coyote puppy and has cared for him ever since. Shreve also has a black and white pup and a cat named Eli.

Enjoy.

2008-10-28T21:48:00.001-04:00

"Saving one animal won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that animal." -unknown

Kenya was adopted.

2008-10-24T21:05:00.001-04:00

Just because I hate fkn spam...

Fight Spam! Click Here!

Waiting on furever.

2008-10-17T20:52:00.004-04:00

Hi, my name is Dixie,

and I am a goofy dog.

--------------------

Nothing new here. Just as mentioned before.

We actually had someone call the house mention the blog and ask for assistance in rehabbing feral dogs. That was kinda of cool. I also now get emails in regards to Cattle Dogs in the Carolinas, that also is on the cool side.

We still have Dixie, and probably will on through the holidays. Which is absolutely fine. Yes, we definitely want her to go to a forever home, but we also realize that with the economy kicking the bucket and the holidays being right around the corner that it may be a little bit longer until someone wants to adopt a rough playing sweet heart of an ACD.

One Year Anniversary.

2008-10-04T22:18:00.004-04:00

Kisses from Papa.

First Bath.

Snuggles with Momma.

Day at the park.

Oh how we still love to make "forts".

Happy puppy with Papa.

----------------------------------------------

Today, one year ago, we started with our first foster, (Stephen T.) Colbert. Abused, feral and wanting nothing to do with us we started working with him everyday, hand feeding at times, and forcing human contact on him by way of cuddling on the couch; can you imagine having to force an 8 month old puppy to cuddle?

So today is his gotcha day, even though we officially adopted him February 8th, just in time for Valentines. Yes he can have 2 anniversaries AND his birthday...he is afterall, a lucky dog.

He has gone from 14 lbs to 22 at his last weigh in. He loves fetch, still makes forts and sleeps with a blanket over his head, he will probably always be afraid of the dark, and yes, we sleep with a night light on for him. He also doesn't like flashlights or laser pointers. He loves his Maxi-poo and leading the pack when it is time for a walk. He still doesn't know sit or stay or down. Not that we have ever really asked him to - maybe we should start... He loves going for truck rides, putting his head right on Donovan's shoulder. He still isn't my biggest fan. He barks when someone comes home and hops around like a rabbit. He snorts and squeaks and snores.

Over the year we have called him Stinky, Moose lips, $hitty puppy, Sheddy puppy, Little boy, Baby puppy, Fussy boy, Fussy lip, Little bear, Bear paws, Stinky McFussypants, Mini-Max, and some lady at the park thought his name was Pooh Bear.

Most of all over the past year, we have loved him.

Something I had forgotten...

2008-09-30T21:23:00.003-04:00

This is a post I had made at AuCaDo on May 23rd, and somehow it did not get mentioned here of all places...

For Sudan:

Sudan, Nov 06 - May 08

As many of you know we have Colbert who is our adopted foster, and we have Kenya who is his littermate and our current foster. There were 5 puppies in the litter, Kenya, Chad, Sudan, Zambia (Colbert) and one other that is now Rusty; they were all named after African countries (why you name corgi mixes after African countries and not say counties in the UK I will never know). All were physically abused, tortured, and feral; making them all painfully shy, evasive, and anti-social.

Sudan was the last one to go into a home, she went just recently, a few months ago, after nearly a years worth of patience and love at Pet Helpers.

Yesterday or today she got out and was hit by a car. She did not survive. And even though she wasn't even my dog and I never worked with her, I am crying while I type this because I know the pain she was in just by fostering two of her siblings. To spend most of your life afraid of human contact and not knowing the joy of a belly rub, being sacked out on the couch or a good round of fetch. It hurts to know that someone could do what they did to one puppy never mind all 5.

But I know that she isn't scared anymore, scarred, in pain, or unhappy.

Much love to you Sudan.

In an update to this posting, Kenya is still looking for a home, all she needs is some patience and love.

---------------------------------

Now, anyone want to adopt a cattle dog?

Hurray!!!

2008-09-27T13:14:00.004-04:00

Captives of the kitchen while the carpets were getting cleaned yesterday. Buela on the left, Dixie on the right.

Sweet Nothings, Sweet Nothings...

Adopt ME!

---------------------------------------
We took Dixie in to have her 2nd heartworm treatment yesterday. Per Martha's vets advice we asked for another heart worm test prior to the injection. The one done at the office was just barely tinged with the faintest of a blush of color. Our vet, Dr Stephen Jones, who is on the board of the American HeartWorm Association and one of SC Veterinarians of the Year, wanted to call it a negative test. We had more blood drawn from Dixie and it was sent to a lab for confirmation.

We got the results today when we took our FF Colbert in for his rabies vacc.

Dixie is now heartworm NEGATIVE!!!

YAY!!!

Anyone want to adopt a super submissive love bug bluey?

Nothing new here.

2008-09-09T13:25:00.006-04:00

Check out those bear claws...

Guess who hates having his photo taken.

Look! it's the Firefox logo!

----------------------------------------------------------
Everyone is still getting along. No one has any new scars, no one died, and no puking (woo hoo!)

Dixie is still a cuddle monster, and doesn't EVER want to miss out on anything. So even if you say Corona, Dixie will scramble up from the wood floor on the other side of the house and be sitting next to you before Corona can even hop off the ottoman 2 feet in front of me. All because, of course, you might have food. Ugh.

Her final two shots are scheduled for the 26th and 27th. Her incontinence has abated and was probably exacerbated by the vet visit. The vet we had that day said that she is a very timid dog and anxious dog and this is probably what is causing her accidents. Good news is that it eventually goes away. Good thing she is a love bug, so that her eventual 'furever' parents will love her despite having to clean up the floors for the first few days after a vets visit. Poor Girl.

-------------

Colbert is still a card. he squeals like a girl while playing with Max. He also has developed a sneaky typical little brother tactic to steal Max's rawhide. He will go over to max, tail tucked and ears down, tapped his paw off Max's head while rolling over. He will then curl his body around Max's head all while 'talking' and squeaking. This makes Max grumble and turn his head because I am sure it is all very annoying. Once Max turns his head Colbert, whose mouth just happens to be next to the afore mentioned rawhide picks it up and walks to his corner in the living room. Here he promptly plops down with his big Corgi butt facing the rest of us and goes to work on his newly acquired rawhide. We all know that a stolen rawhide with someone else's slobber tastes alot better than the dry one that has been sitting at the top of the stairs for a week.

I would tape this, but Colbert runs from the sound of the camera.

C'est la vie.

x0x W

An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner

2008-09-03T20:43:00.002-04:00

Found this today, thought I would share...

http://muttcats.com/articles/open_letter.htm

An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner

by Bonnie Brayshaw
St. Louis, Missouri

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner:

Thank you for contacting us animal rescuers, shelter volunteers, and foster-homes about your inability to keep your pet. We receive an extremely high volume of inquiries and requests to accept surrendered animals (and none of us is getting paid, OK?). To help us expedite your problem as quickly as possible, please observe the following guidelines:

1. Do not say that you are "CONSIDERING finding a good home" for your pet, or that you, "feel you MIGHT be forced to," or that you "really THINK it would be better if" you unloaded the poor beast. Ninety-five percent of you have already got your minds stone-cold made up that the animal WILL be out of your life by the weekend at the latest. Say so. If you don't, I'm going to waste a lot of time giving you common-sense, easy solutions for very fixable problems, and you're going to waste a lot of time coming up with fanciful reasons why the solution couldn't possibly work for you. For instance, you say the cat claws the furniture, and I tell you about nail-clipping and scratching posts and aversion training, and then you go into a long harangue about how your husband won't let you put a scratching post in the family room, and your ADHD daughter cries if you use a squirt bottle on the cat, and your congenital thumb abnormalities prevent you from using nail scissors and etc., etc. Just say you're getting rid of the cat.

2. Do not waste time trying to convince me how nice and humane you are. Your coworker recommended that you contact me because I am nice to animals, not because I am nice to people, and I don't like people who "get rid of" their animals. "Get rid of" is my least favorite phrase in any language. I hope someone "gets rid of" YOU someday. I am an animal advocate, not a people therapist. After all, for your ADHD daughter, you can get counselors, special teachers, doctors, social workers, etc. Your pet has only me, and people like me, to turn to in his or her need, and we are unpaid, overworked, stressed-out, and demoralized. So don't tell me this big long story about how, "We love this dog so much, and we even bought him a special bed that cost $50, and it is just KILLING us to part with him, but honestly, our maid is just awash in dog hair every time she cleans, and his breath sometimes just reeks of liver, so you can see how hard we've tried, and how dear he is to us, but we really just can't . . ." You are not nice, and it is not killing you. It is, in all probability, literally killing your dog, but you're going to be just fine once the beast is out of your sight. Don't waste my time trying to make me like you or feel sorry for you in your plight.

3. Do not try to convince me that your pet is exceptional and deserves special treatment. I don't care if you taught him to sit. I don't care if she's a beautiful Persian. I have a waiting list of battered and/or whacked-out animals who need help, and I have no room to foster-house your pet. Do not send me long messages detailing how Fido just l-o-v-e-s blankies and carries his favorite blankie everywhere, and oh, when he gets all excited and happy, he spins around in circles, isn't that cute? He really is darling, so it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to find him a good home. Listen, we can go down to the pound and count the darling, spinning, blankie-loving beasts on death row by the dozens, any day of the week. And, honey, Fido is a six-year-old Shepherd-Lab mix. I am not lying when I tell you that big, older, mixed-breed, garden-variety dogs are almost completely unadoptable, and I don't care if they can whistle Dixie or send semaphore signals with their blankies. What you don't realize is that, though you're trying to lie to me, you're actually telling the truth: Your pet is a special, wonderful, amazing creature. But this mean old world does not care. More importantly, YOU do not care, and I can't fix that problem. All I can do is grieve for all the exceptional animals who live short, brutal, loveless lives and die without anyone ever recognizing that they were indeed very, very special.

4. Finally, just, for God' s sake, for the animal's sake, tell the truth, and the whole truth. Do you think that if you just mumble that your cat is "high-strung," I will say, "Okey-doke! No prob!" and take it into foster care? No, I will start asking questions and uncover the truth, which is that your cat has not used a litter box in the last six months. Do not tell me that you "can't" crate your dog. I will ask what happens when you try to crate him, and you will either be forced to tell me the symptoms of full-blown, severe separation anxiety, or else you will resort to lying some more, wasting more of our time. And, if you succeed in placing your pet in a shelter or foster care, do not tell yourself the biggest lie of all: "Those nice people will take him and find him a good home, and everything will be fine." Those nice people will indeed give the animal every possible chance, but if we discover serious health or behavior problems, if we find that your misguided attempts to train or discipline him have driven him over the edge, we will do what you are too immoral and cowardly to do: We will hold the animal in our arms, telling him truthfully that he is a good dog or cat, telling him truthfully that we are sorry and we love him, while the vet ends his life. How can we be so heartless as to kill your pet, you ask? Do not ever dare to judge us. At least we tried. At least we stuck with him to the end. At least we never abandoned him to strangers, as you certainly did, didn't you? In short, this little old rescuer/foster momma has reached the point where she would prefer you pet owners to tell her stories like this:

"We went to Wal-Mart and picked up a free pet in the parking lot a couple of years ago. Now we don't want it anymore. We're lazier than we thought. We've got no patience either. We're starting to suspect the animal is really smarter than we are, which is giving us self-esteem issues. Clearly, we can't possibly keep it. Plus, it might be getting sick; it's acting kind of funny."
"We would like you to take it in eagerly, enthusiastically, and immediately. "We hope you'll realize what a deal you're getting and not ask us for a donation to help defray your costs. After all, this is an (almost) pure-bred animal, and we'll send the leftover food along with it. We get it at Wal-Mart too, and boy, it's a really good deal, price-wise."
"We are very irritated that you haven't shown pity on us in our great need and picked the animal up already. We thought you people were supposed to be humane! Come and get it today. No, we couldn't possibly bring it to you; the final episode of "Survivor II" is on tonight."

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pet Owner, for your cooperation.

----------------------------

And everyone here is fine by the way :).

False Alarm

2008-08-31T22:14:00.002-04:00

Nap Time!
--------------------------------------------------

Dixie is back to her normal kissy faced, pesky, lap monster self.

We are thinking that she got into something, whether she ate a bug or toad, part of a plant, or got into the anthill that D treated the other day. What we are sure of is that she has killer farts. The kind that make you want to open all the windows, put the fans on full hilt, and vacate.

Sweet Baby

2008-08-31T07:49:00.004-04:00

Cuddling with Papa.

--------------------------------------------------

Poor Dixie has had a rough night.

It started with retching at 7pm. Then 11 pm. Then 6am and 6:30am. Our normal lap monster is laying under the dining room table looking like she was ridden hard and put away wet.

We have consulted the vet tech from our vet that lives across the street and she said to fast her for 24 hours, making sure that she drinks.

We've given her a milk bone and the fast has begun, wish her luck, and if you know what it means, rub a bentley for her.

Birthdays!

2008-08-27T10:25:00.006-04:00

Yesterday doing what she does best.

A fateful couple. 7.27.07

Her "Gotcha Day!" 1.21.07

----------------------------------------------------

Completely unfoster related.

Today is Corona's third birthday and Donovan's 29th.

He is at work, handsome in his summer whites (insert drool here).

And she will most likely spend the day lying on the couch waiting for a belly rub, she has been especially fond of ear scratches today.

YaY!!! THE VETS OFFICE!!!

2008-08-27T09:52:00.006-04:00

The patented ACD "Porn pose"

"Superman"

-------------------------------------------------

http://www.dogster.com/dogs/866159

The above is a link to Dixie's Dogster Page.

She is doing just fine, spooned with me nearly the whole night. She only showed some distress (she just couldn't find a good position to lie in and was very restless) yesterday afternoon until I gave her one of her Codeine pills for pain (lucky girl).

There was no decrease in appetite or any other symptom the vet told us about that might occur.

It took 2 techs, the vet and Donovan to hold her for her shot, I had her face in my hands. The first attempt she screamed like a stuck pig. She wiggled so much that she bent the needle (there was only one tech and D holding her that time). However we couldn't be too entirely sympathetic because she whined the whole time he was listening to her heart and lungs with a measly stethoscope. He said her heart and lungs sound great so he didn't want to do x-rays or ultrasounds. And that she is a big sissy.

Fun fact: our vet is on the board of directors for the American Heart Worm Association, and vets from all over the region call him with their questions. (Woo Hoo!)

http://www.heartwormsociety.org/article.asp?id=8

AND------------

*this is where D and I get to puff up our chests*

He said he couldn't think of a better home for her to be in right now.

W

The Cattle Girls.

2008-08-24T12:04:00.007-04:00

In person, if you were to casually look at this pic you'd see two happy dogs, in reality Buela is gearing up to bite Dixie in her bratty little sister 'play with me bitch' way. Also note how much alike they look apart from the spot on Dixie's head and the red around Buela's eyes.

Happy Tails to you. With in hours of coming into our house, nothing but zoomies and play fighting.

What happens after an ACD spends 3+ hours in a car followed by 2+ hours running amock.

---------------------------------------------------

So Dixie immediately blended in and started clapping to the floor to initiate play. No major spats or growling, nothing like when we brought in Bindy. Of course we got the 'Here we go again' death look from Corona, but nothing that wasn't expected.

She truly is a sweet dog, but lacks socialization in the way that the flush of the toilet made her wild eyed and back up. The beep of the microwave made her do that head cock that dogs do when they listen intently. Nail clipping was definitely a chore that I gave up on, as I am going to need a second person to hold her. What a big goober she is.

She has no house manners so that means if you so much as make a clucking noise at a different dog she is right there in your face and bound and determined that she is going to get her 40# body into your lap and you ARE going to give her loves. Demmit. If I have food there is immediately have someone panting in my ear...and it definitely isn't my newlywed husband.

In general she just needs some boundaries and to get through her heart worm meds. Which she starts Tuesday at 10:30 am. She is definitely more than adoptable.

D has taken to calling them the Cattle Girls. You cannot go far with out have them both with you, Buela because she is the velcro dog poster child and Dixie because she is a pro at monkey see monkey do. I have woken up more than a few times in a cattle sandwich, Buela up against my back and Dixie spooned to my front.

There was one night when Buela was getting a little disenchanted with her new shadow, Buela would settle by my head with her usual huff, then Dixie would settle against my back. Buela would get up with another huff and flop against my stomach. Dixie would then flop against my thighs. Buela would get up with another grumble and go back to my shoulder blades. Dixie spooned my back again. Buela huffed again and got off the bed. I fell asleep again after that parade of paws at 2 am.

I'll post on adventures at the vet when we recover from them, apparently last time Dixie went she needed a muzzle and sedatives. We are taking Buela as the good will ambassador as she loves everyone at the vets office.

Wish us luck.

Newbie on the way.

2008-08-09T10:52:00.005-04:00

Nope, not Buela.

That looks like a Buela face though.

It's Dixie Rose.

-----------------------------------------------

Wednesday I get to drive to Columbia to pick up another foster through Blue Crush Rescue. Her name is Dixie and was an owner surrender due to relocation. A relocation which also means that 2 children no longer have their best friend.

Surely a family pet that is housebroken and altered still young and full of life should be easily adopted right?

Donovan found her posting on AuCaDo under the urgent category and emailed me in regards to her after emailing Chris and Martha from Blue Crush Rescue about her. I called Martha and got the dirt. She will be pulled from the Asheville Shelter Monday and here with us on her lucky day the 13th.

Unfortunately Miss Dixie has heart worm. we have yet to find out how severe a case of heart worm she has, but are looking at 2 to 3 months of permanent quiet time. This should be fun, keeping a 2 year old ACD quiet for 3 months. If you do not know the temperament of an ACD, you shouldn't be purchasing or adopting one. Think of a golden with an attitude and mind of its own, on speed, steroids, and prozac encased in just a 30 - 50 lb body. Trust me, I love my Buela Grace, I wouldn't trade her for the world. Loyal, intelligent, protective, loving, problem solving masterminds of trouble and delight.

Heart worm is a disease that is spread by a mosquito bite and it can only be passed via a bite from an infected mosquito. What happens is an infected dog gets bitten by the mosquito, larval worms in the blood then live in the gut of the mosquito and go through 2 - 3 larval molting stages (instars) then move to the salivary glands of the insect. When the bug bites another dog these larval worms then live in the dogs veins and arteries, going through another 2 or 3 instars before becoming adults and moving to the heart. They can be 6 to 12 inches long and a severe infestation can easily be seen on an ultrasound and looks like spaghetti busting out of the heart.

Treatment involves up to 3 shots of an arsenic based vermicide. The treatment has been likened to chemo for dogs. To avoid the dog going into shock or have embolisms the treatment is dragged out so a few worms die at a time. The cause for keeping the dog quiet is so that pieces of dead worms do not cause a stroke or embolisms in the tiny pulminary veins of the brain or lungs.

How do you prevent heart worm and months of pain and soreness and misery for your pet? Put them on a preventative. A $13 a month beef flavored pill (which all our dogs take like a treat with no problem) versus having to go through the entire treatment process. All of this nonsense could have been avoided.

American Heartworm Society (sad really that there needs to be one of these).

Ebb and fade.

2008-07-30T10:36:00.010-04:00

We've had a couple of fosters come and go as of late.

Bindy's first car ride with us, fresh from the clink in Camden, SC.

Satellite ears and a happy face.

On her way to Columbia, the first leg of her journey to Indiana to find a forever home.

--------------------------------------

In early July we had Bindy Sue (yes just like that ever-cheerful Irwin girl) she was with us for 2 weeks from Blue Crush Rescue out of NC. We held her so that she wouldn't have to stay in a $60 a night kennel after being pulled from a shelter where she was on the put down list for June 24th.

An ornery, loving, greedy, kissy, & domineering 35 lb lap dog. Satellite ears, just a nub of a tail, with a long swirly coat. She liked (and I am sure she still does like) to wander off on her own, very much an ACD with selective hearing and definitely was not a fan of bath time. She did teach us some things tho, never trust a dog, they will always find a way to what they want, in her case FOOD. We would be giving treats in the dining room and we'd find her in the pantry with her head stuck in the box of meaty bones. Or we'd go to the living room with something for ourselves and she'd be sitting on the couch , in your seat no less, waiting to snatch it from your hand.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Just recently was Barnaby.

Sitting pretty just after a bath.

Showing off his mottled tongue just like the rest of all our rescues.

-------------------------------------------------

Barnaby was a stray wandering the neighborhood. I thought that he was the neighbors dog, Buddy. Long and lanky, an big hot mess of black fur. some sort of lab mix with giant feet and a puppy face. Blinding white teeth and should've been named goober for all the goofy things he did. He just wanted to please, but was far too big to be kept in our house, even though he, amazingly so, had been housebroken.

We kept him for a weekend then sadly turned him in to animal control, and that was after posting signs all over and ads on craigslist.

Because we live in a nice subdivision with big new houses, in a semi rural area, we and some of the neighbors are thinking that locals are dumping their pets off here in hopes someone will take them in.

Bluntly, that sucks.

Fetch Monster

2008-05-23T19:59:00.002-04:00

Through shadowing his brother Max, Colbert has become quite the fetch monster. We are still working on the return, as he still has issues with people reaching towards him. But a happy boy is he.

OK, so I am a crappy blogger...

2008-05-23T19:05:00.011-04:00

Colbert and his litter sister, Kenya.

A recap:

We adopted Colbert on February 8th. Just in time for Valentines Day. I told Donovan he wasn't allowed to get me a puppy for VD 09 as we adopted Buela VD 07. He told me I'd ruined the surprise.

In late March we took on Colbert's litter mate Kenya. We are fostering her for medical reasons. Pet Helpers old facilities had open air outside kennels with dirt 'floors'. The resident vet refused to fix her cherry eye until she could be kept in a clean condition. It was noticabley pussy with green mucus and infection. That's where D stepped in.

We brought her home and she was a flash back to Colbert in the beginning. No potty manners, no socialization, shied away from human and canine contact. Granted she wasn't as bad as Colbert, but it was still just the same. No corners and nose burying; but she definitely plastered herself as close to whatever wall or furniture was closest.

She had her surgery to correct the cherry eye, but it reverted back. So the vet fixed her up again and this time it held. Her eye still looks different, but is a thousand times better than what it was.

April brought us to another milestone with Colbert. We could just let him outside without having to deal with a leash. Leashing up one dog while letting the others run off is hard, imagine two. We also do not have him wear his collar 24/7 as he was starting to mat underneath. When out someplace that isn't fenced or our backyard then we make sure he at least has a chain on for easier catching.

April was also when D started 12 hr work shifts and Kenya was supposed to go back to Pet Helpers, however due to space and staffing issues, we still have her.

On a non-dog note, May started with a marriage between D & W.

Kenya started out with hoarding rawhides. Not being aggressive about it, just running out into the room and collecting. .

She doesn't run like Colbert did, she would stay in her corner if you went about it the right way. We had issues with Buela 'assisting' with herding Kenya at bed and potty time.

She still eats like it is going out of style, I tell her to breathe, but she hasn't choked yet. If you say "Let's go out" she will usually skulk over to the carpet by the back door. she will sit there and wait for you to put the leash on for her. Something Colbert still won't do.

D and I will wake up often times and find her either sleeping on the bed with us, she was sleeping between us one morning, Corona style, OR she is playing with Buela, the latter has been our alarm clock this week at 5 am. Mmm, the sounds of sparring in the morning.

We have yet to hear her bark, but she does growl in her sleep. It is probably her moose lips rippling over her adorable under bite, but it still makes our other dogs upset.

As long as we don't talk to her or acknowledge her appearance, she will come out and spar with our pack or chew on a rawhide. Her expedited rehabilitation makes us believe that she definitely wasn't as badly abused as Colbert was.

It is now late May and we have slated June 3rd as Kenya's return date to Pet Helpers, this happy news for her, in hopes that she will find her forever home, is tinged with sadness as we have received news of Colbert and Kenya's sister, Sudan. One of the last pups to be adopted (Kenya is now the only one not in a home) Sudan was just as bad as the other 4, unsocialized, scared and scarred. Today or yesterday, Sudan got out of her owners house and was fatally hit by a car. It makes me sad that an innocent puppy spent her entire life afraid of humans and never knew the ability to relax and enjoy a belly rub. But I know that where ever she is, pain doesn't exist, physical or mental.

More to follow.

One of Kenya's first days, when she wouldn't even look at food never mind inhale it.

Passed out with her rawhides.

Stealth mode pictures...

Learning some leash manners.

Her ungainly 'I don't wanna snuggle' pose complete with feet stuck straight up in the air.

My favorite (and accidental!) picture of Miss Kenya Marie.

New Tricks, Same Dog.

2008-02-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

So Colbert has picked up on the eternal game of fetch that occurs in our home between Max, Buela, D and I.

He likes to chase our red Kong around the living room. D will roll it across the floor and Colbert will bound after it, alternately pouncing and prancing to get it. Of course this means restraining Buela and Max so as Colbert can get versus those two.

Rising of the Phoenix...

2008-01-30T14:51:00.001-05:00

I say Phoenix because Colbert may be ready to move on from our home. He has come so far, and yet still needs more work, we took him and the others to the James Island Dog Park and then on to see the staff at Pet Helpers for an update. Everything was sublime at the park, but once he saw K and got a whiff of the shelter itself he reverted to him oldself from October.

K thinks that she has a home for Colbert with the father of the woman who adopted one of his siblings. Also his 3 other siblings are still at the shelter without human socialization beyond potty breaks, food, and visitors. Which we know is the best they can provide with all the other animals at the shelter. But they do need more interaction in a normal household with stable dogs and loving humans. There also is a Golden that has issued with being touched due to prior abuses.

On a more happy note, enjoy the pictures from today at the Dog Park.

I wish these could be back dated.

2008-01-19T21:21:00.000-05:00

Standing up on the console tween us on the way to the dog park.

"put your head on my shoulder..."

Watching the world go by...

-----------------------

So we have had Colbert for just over 3 months now. He immensely enjoys herding Buela around the house and even gives Corona a reason to run and play. He is still wary of me while he will sleep curled up next to Donovan on the love seat.

I remember waking up one morning to someone licking my foot - no weird thing in this house, both Buela and Corona love feet. However this was more than just a few passes on my toes, this was my entire foot right up to my ankle. Then I wiggled my toes and off he ran. He's becoming quite the goober.

Here is the email and D sent out recently with updates and anecdotes:

Anyway, Colbert has made leaps and bounds in progress since bringing him home in October. He's kind of hit a plateau this month. He's become a apart of the daily walks with the rest of the dogs. When I first tried walking him it was via the body harness, which provided no means of training him how to behave on a leash. When I put a choke chain on him, he fought vigorously before we even got out the door. I let that get the better of me, so I gave up for a while on trying to get him out on walks. The shelter worker with whom I dealt said that he busted an eye vessel when she tried to put him on a leash.

After a little while I got the idea in my head to use a harness and a choke chain simultaneously. That way I could get him used to the feeling of the choke chain but use the harness to control his tantrums without worrying about him hurting himself. It worked great. After one session of using both devices he was ready for the choke chain solely. He did the usual struggling in the beginning of the first walk, and even less on the second. He realized very quickly, as the choke chain is designed to do, that it's in his best interests to figure out what to do in order to not get choked. Now he's almost as good as the rest of them on walks.

He's grown more comfortable with me than with Wendy. He still avoids her as he did the both us in earlier months. He does many things now that show he's on the right track to becoming normal. He's at my feet right now, sleeping. He'll choose to sleep next to me rather than in the corner of the room as he used to do. Earlier today and on other occasions all of the dogs will take a nap on the love seat that I'm sitting on while watching TV. So he's choosing to be next to me and/or around the pack rather than separated and isolated. Good sign.

Everyone who sees him always remarks as to how cute he is. Wendy and I went to Magnolia Gardens last weekend for a dog walk for cancer research. He got so many compliments with his big Corgi ears, big Corgi smile, and little Corgi legs. It'll be hard to let him go, to return him to the adoption center. I'd love to keep him, but the purpose of fostering him was to rehabilitate him for someone else. If I did keep him, then we'd be testing our limits of how many animals we could handle if we desired to foster again. And that's what I originally wanted to do was to foster dogs that needed special attention, fix them, and return them for adoption. If I keep every dog that I foster, then I'll reach the limit of how many dogs I can handle and then I won't be able to help any more dogs. So it's necessary to return the fostered dog so that I can foster another one. That's how I'll maximize the number of dogs I can help.

Taken to anchoring his snout on my arm while riding in the truck, as the one picture shows. He'll maintain that for however long the truck ride is. It's cute.

2007-12-09T22:30:00.000-05:00

After the piddling on the dining room floor got old we have decided to start working on house breaking. This involves putting his harness on in the morning and getting everyone outside so they can all piddle on the lawn. So far so good.

Also, after having him walking with the clan on his said harness for about a month D thought it might be time to try our favorite training device - the choke chain.

Colbert has spent less than 48 hours walking with a leash and chain combo and walks beautifully, like he has been doing it his whole life. Versus the tugging and yanking and ungangly-ness of the harness. He is adorable and spends 95% of his time on the leash staring up at D while his big purple tongue hangs out.

2007-11-17T15:21:00.001-05:00

Riding in the truck standing on the center console.

Enjoying the sun in a giant field.

--------------

What lately has perplexed us most is that Colber has no qualms in getting up close to us in the truck. He likes to check out the windows and bury his nose into the crooks of elbows, but the favorite is (like Buela) to stand on the center console and watch the world go by.

Meanwhile, when in the house, coming near us is like a stealth mission and unless we have food we are to be avoided.

He still likes to hide under dog beds and pillows, though we have removed the large dog bed so that forces him to hide in plain sight with the collection of three smaller beds. I have also watched him nose the couch cushions to the floor so he can use those to hide his nose. This morning when D got out of the shower Colbert wasn't under his usual pillow. D thought nothing of it until a little blonde Corgi head popped up out of the blankets and pillows of our own unmade bed.

The fur on the tip of his nose is slowly growing back, developing a velvet quality and the patch of foot pad has healed beautifully. Which means he is back to roughhousing with our crew. Even Corona, the standoffish chichi mix is goading him into playing with her. Must be because he isn't as rough as Buela and is smaller than she is. You can't imagine how funny it is to see a usually reserved princess dog start clapping her forelegs to the floor and pawing at his little bear cub face. I feel like I have to have the camera permanently in my hand because the by the time I get the camera and turn it on all the action has stopped and the pups have all gone back to sleeping in sun puddles. I will have to work harder on my reaction time.

2007-11-05T22:46:00.000-05:00

Happy faced Colbert

-----------------------------------------------
Per D.....

So, a significant milestone happened today. Over the past couple of weeks, when wrestling on the floor with the dogs, Colbert has become less and less evasive and more willing to get near me. While my hand is touching another dog he will get right up to it and sniff it, until I would direct my hand at him in a playful manner and he would back up. Then he stopped moving away and would just let me flail my fingers at him. He would always be tense while I would scratch his head after cornering him to prevent his escape.

Anyway, today we were all playing on the floor and he let me scratch his head without running off. He even responded when I scratched him at the base of his tail—contorting his body in the standard way a dog will when you find their sweet spot. He's so happy when he plays with the other dogs.

Playtime is over now, and he's back under his little fort: a dog bed that he wears as a hat. He spends most of the time underneath something. Last week he even walked with it on top of him to his food bowl until the bowl was underneath the bed as well and then began to eat...while under the bed.

I'm anxious to see how much more he improves with more time.

-D

2007-11-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

Our house guest this weekend: My co-workers beagle; Charlie.

One of many 'forts'.

Friday we went to Wannamaker Park.

After a short walk around the neighborhood with Colbert catching on relatively well. We went for the short drive and walked the mile long paved trail culminating in a short stint at the dog park. Walking on a leash with him is still a struggle, as he is still looking for a way out versus looking forward to see where he is walking. The result of all this struggling, besides a very tired puppy, is that he unfortunately ripped an piece of the pad on one of his toes, into a flap, about the size of the top of a pencil eraser. We have wrapped his foot up in a piece of paper towel with some bandage tape. The vet's office is in our future...

D thinks that Colbert realizes that we are giving affection and he knows his name and such, and that now is the time to start making him come to us instead of us going to him and petting him through his anxiety.

Colbert will now huff at the the other dogs in play as well as stand in the middle of the floor while decimating a rawhide. Otherwise his usual actions are running from one safe spot to another in order to hide under a dog bed. He particularly likes Max's dog bed which is large enough for him to hide under completely and light enough to run around the room wearing it as a cover. Friday night he used it to eat his dinner in peace, I wish I had a photo of him wearing his dog bed, draped over his bowl, while he ate his dinner.

He still sleeps under D's spare pillow between the bed and the nightstand. We call it his fort.

The Hand

2007-10-30T20:23:00.000-04:00

Family Portrait.

Lucky Puppy.

So as posted before, Colbert likes to observe play time with Max and Buela. This morning, as D was wrestling with them Colbert tried to get in on the action. However when D reached out to Colbert he would back off but still huff and bark...with an actual onomatopoeic "woof". It truly was cute. When D was patting Max during this episode, Colbert would come up and sniff at D's hand and arm. But again back away when D reached solely out to Colbert.

Apparently during the afternoon, Colbert got comfortable enough to nearly quasi-play with "The Hand".

Last night.

2007-10-25T12:01:00.001-04:00

His bald spot.

Colbert likes to hide under dog beds, especially in corners. That whole ostrich with his head in the sand mentality.
--------------------------------------

Yesterday, Colbert went to the vets to be neutered, I was expecting a drugged up, relaxed, and groggy Colbert, much like Buela was back in March. However, he was quite alert, which of course makes sense because his neutering was less traumatic than a hysterectomy. I will let D tell the story about what happened at bed time:

----------------------------------

So the little guy is slowly coming out of his shell. When he's downstairs with the rest of us and we're watching TV he'll constantly travel back and forth between his two favorite safe spots. He doesn't hang out under the dining table much anymore. I think it's him showing his desire the be with the group but not fully ready yet, so this is as close as he can manage.

When I'm on the floor playing with the other dogs he'll come up and join as long as I ignore him. When I say his name or reach out my hand at him, he retreats.

Last night had a strange turn. So it's common for Buela to walk all over us while in bed and often lick our faces until we wake up, so that was my first thought as I awoke to something crawling around my head. But it turned out to be Colbert, and he was burrowing under my pillow. His standard position to take whenever he lies down is to bury his nose under something or in a corner. Because of that he's rubbed off a little patch of hair on his snout. So he was under my pillow, then decided to move over to W's, then back to mine, then on top of W's, then tried to go in reverse on top of mine, until I finally picked him up and placed him beside the bed and the night stand. I took a pillow and laid it on top of him so that he'd have his face buried. And that's how I found him when I got out of bed.

Hopefully this shows that his rehabilitation will progress faster and in abrupt advances rather than imperceptibly slow.

--------------

A question from D's Dad: so does he ever just let you pet him for a while? or does he always move away? how about eye contact?

He avoids eye contact when I kneel down to approach him as he frantically looks around for an escape route. He lets us touch him in that he tolerates it, but I don't know if he's enjoying it( he gets terribly tense and his body will be rock hard- W). Whenever we're petting him it's when he's cornered or while we're holding him, so if he had a way out, he'd take it. Which makes him visiting us while we were sleeping last night all the more unexplainable.

He was panting vigorously the whole time as though we were forcing him into a stressful situation, but nothing made him get on the bed and he even left the bed and then got back up. His behavior is well beyond my interpretive skills. (His body wasn't tense last night when I petted him, he was just hiding under pillows -W) If Cesar (Milan) didn't get already get a torrent of emails, I'd ask him about it.

So many methods I read about online of other people's feral or abused dogs that they've helped are not applicable to Colbert. Those stories I read are of either a domesticated dog who was abused or of taming a feral dog who has never been abused. Colbert is both abused and feral, so it's a doubled level of difficulty. At least he's showing improvement and he gets along well with the other dogs.

Barking!

2007-10-23T13:54:00.001-04:00

Colbert sleeping, his bum in in the corner with his tail wrapped up along his body, his head is under the green dog bed.
-------------------------------------------

Today Colbert barked for the first time, it was while he was playing with his consummate playmate, Buela. It took me a minute, lying in bed at 6 am, trying to figure who that was because it didn't sound like any of the other pups. It makes me so happy that he is relaxed enough to bark and play with them, I just wish he would consider getting closer to us.

Contrary to what I just said, this afternoon he was walking towards me, possibly to flirt with Max or Buela, he got with in a foot of me until I turned my head at the movement. - sigh

At this point in time he has found himself another cubby hole to hide in , he did a ferret double over move to get in there and has buried his head under a dog bed while wedged between the wall and a bookcase(see the above picture). I can hear him sleeping now because he is doing the same huffing and whining that Buela does when she's caught something good while dreaming.

----------------------------

Sunday night, I brought everyone into our room for bedtime. I also brought the last bits of rawhides from an open bag...I figured 6 or 7 pieces and 4 dogs will work out just right. In about a half hour or so Colbert growled at Buela when she got too close to a rawhide that was a foot from the open crate he likes to lay in. I got up to find Buela a different rawhide to go after, only to realize that all of them were gone. These were 4" x 4" rawhides, even the most anxious, bored, and hungry ACD couldn't have eaten all of them in 30 minutes. So I checked on Colbert to be sure he at least had one and to swipe the one in front of the crate for Buela. That's when I realized that Colbert had retrieved every last rawhide and was hoarding them under the cushion in the crate.

Time will only tell - however I have heard of dogs being in homes for years and still hiding things like food, toys, and anything else that they think will get taken away.

-----------------------------------

In the mean time, this is my newest favorite forum: AUCADO.

Play time.

2007-10-21T18:42:00.000-04:00

Last night, instead of saying "Hi Colbert" whenever he ventured out into open space of the living room, I would say "Hi Baby; Hi Puppy; Hi Baby-Puppy" which would get Corona excited, and since he has a fascination with her he would get excited too. Then the romping with Buela and Max would ensue.

Today apparently Colbert also participated in what is affectionately called 'Get Max' which is basically just wrestling on the carpet.

Food Agression

2007-10-18T02:36:00.000-04:00

Still hiding amongst the chairs.

------------------------------------------------------------

D says:

Colbert is getting better. I don't think that he believes that we'll hurt him. I think he avoids us and gets tense when we hold him out of habit rather than genuine fear. When I'm on the couch he'll work up the desire to play with Max and Buela. I'll call out his name, which I think he recognizes, and he'll stop playing, turn to his safe spot by the dining table, and after a minute he'll return to playing. Each successive time I call out his name he walks away a little less ultimately only doing a turnaround. So I think it's just habit for him.

-----------------------------------------------------------

When we first received Colbert, we were told that he had attacked one of his litter mates over food, namely because Colbert is a runt and was being crowded out of the food bowl. The first few times we tried feeding all four together there was some rumbling of the throat, lunging, and charging.

As of tonight, there is just his own crowding out of the others from his food dish. This is mainly for Max and Buela as Corona seems uninterested in him, specifically because of ungentlemanly behavior involving her posterior.

Max just wants to check out the new playmate and assert the pecking order, while Buela has a perpetual bottomless pit substituting as her stomach.

Haha, I still remember her as a puppy eating her dinner and drinking water until her little belly looked like she'd swallowed a softball.

Stepping stones.

2007-10-16T21:06:00.000-04:00

Max and Buela in Colbert's new spot.

He has learned to take the stairs both up and down. Which makes catching him slightly more complicated. And once one of us does manage to fetch him, his entire body is tight with tension, it makes me wonder how sore his muscles get. D has managed to teach him that when he puts Colbert on the floor, he isn't going to let him go until he relaxes. So now he immediately relaxes, mainly because he has learned this means release.

He also has a new favorite hiding spot ; but is relatively easy to flush out from there without too much stress. Clothing left on the laundry room floor has also become a favorite lounge spot/hideaway.

Otherwise all is the same, he officially does look at us when he say his name, and he is still cavorting with our pups. Play time makes me realize that there is a puppy inside that just wants to be accepted and loved. Makes me wish dogs spoke english.

Wednesday

2007-10-10T21:13:00.001-04:00

Corona, Colbert, and my foot.

Nearly a week now and he no issues with the dogs and is getting used to us talking to him but still will dart away if we even move in his direction, regardless of if we are coming to pet him or just walking to the kitchen for a beverage. He may be realizing the Colbert (pronounced: kohl-bear) is his name, or at the very least something that we say in reference to him, because he now turns and looks at us.

He has, unfortunately, developed a bald spot on the top of his nose. I am presuming that it is from stress, either by rubbing it with his foot or on another surface like the Dogloo, or incessant licking. D and I have seen none of this action taking place, but have no other ideas of what it could be from.

He has also gotten more submissive to the fact that he is getting picked up, only in that he hasn't bared his teeth at us and attempted to whip his head back to bite. His body still gets rock hard with tension and stress, but this is also what needs to be done to take him up and down stairs as well as help him realize that bipeds aren't all bad.

Weekend Recap:

2007-10-08T20:04:00.001-04:00

Sitting in the living room, nearest his favorite corner; safe, but able to hide at a moments notice.

Just after his bath on Friday, he looks so little and vulnerable.

One of his other hideaways, in the dining room under the window.

---------------------------------------
As written by D:

After having Colbert since the 4th, he's showing a lot of promise and I expect him to be achieving several milestones over the next one to two months. The first day I brought him home, I let him out of his crate with my other dogs eagerly watching from a distance. One at a time each of my dogs came up to him and smelled him and he smelled them back. Ever since they have all got along great. Buela, my 10-month old Australian Cattle Dog, and Colbert started playing with each other right away. Both of them being herding dogs, they didn't know what to do with each other when they began to try to herd one another. He really likes my 3-year old Chow-Lab mix, Max.

When I let him roam free in the living room when I'm at the computer or on the couch watching TV, he wanders around with curiosity mingling with the other dogs. His tail wags his tail and jumps around in little hops with vim whenever he's interacting with the others. He acts like a normal dog with them. That's a great sign, I think. All of my dogs are calm and well-behaved, giving a great example for Colbert to emulate.

With W and I, however, he's still unsure and doesn't fully trust us. The first day he ate the wet and dry mixed dog food from my hand and then from his bowl without any problems. He'll eat his food and drink his water with me in the room, while still maintaining a distance. He's grown fond of the rawhide treats that the others enjoy. When the moment is right and I approach him correctly, he'll lick my fingers. He once spent a few minutes on the bed with all of us, but decided he wasn't ready for it.

I tried feeding him his meal last night in the living room but with the other dogs in view he couldn't handle it and became aggressive with protecting his food. He even charged at Buela who was a few yards away, but I stood up and snapped my fingers and he retreated. I took him right to his room upstairs and he finished his meal there. Once he gets tamed I'll work on his food-aggression, but for now the issue will just be avoided.

----------------------------------------------------------

10.5.07

W and I have fostered a little 9-month old Corgi mix from a local Pet Helpers shelter who we've named Colbert. He and his 4 siblings were feral and got captured by some guy who harshly abused them. The only specific abuse I know of was one sibling had lye thrown on his face, so he has loss of hair in that area from the chemical burn. Colbert's abuse is unknown, but certain. He keeps his distance from W and I, but has no problem with the other 3 dogs in the house. He twitches and becomes very stressed whenever we touch him.

I brought him home on Thursday and showed no problems with Max, Corona, and Buela. He even started playing with Buela. Both of them being herding dogs they didn't know what to do with each other. He really likes Max, and looks like a mini-Max, but Max doesn't want to play with him. If he's by himself in the corner of the room away from Wendy and I, he'll relax and go to sleep. But he'll go back to stress mode when I pick him up. He's put up less of a fight each successive time, so I think he's learning that either I will eventually pick him up or that I won't hurt him.

If I approach him the right way, he'll stay still and let me slide my hand up to his nose. Sometimes he'll lick our fingers. We took him to the vet yesterday to get him up to date with shots and get rabies vaccinated. We'll be getting him neutered too.

The attached pictures are after we bathed him, so his hair is a little damp still. He didn't really fight during the bath—not any more than if I had simply been holding him.

Anyway, rather than adopting every dog in the world, fostering one at a time is a more efficient way of maximizing the number of dogs we can help. So when Colbert is back to normal he'll be returned to Pet Helpers and put up for adoption. Taming an abused, wild dog may take up to a year, from what I've read online.

Day One.

2007-10-04T21:26:00.000-04:00

Sitting in D's lap.

D picked up Colbert this afternoon around four. Personally I was expecting a dog that wouldn't even emerge from his crate never mind one that is busily ambling around the house checking everything out.

He has even taken to competitive herding with Buela, neither one knowing what to do with the other. Otherwise there is much time spent holed up in whatever small corner he can find with a wall to press himself against.

Both D and I thought he was bigger than he actually is, he is about the same size as Corona and looks like a mini Max with his spotted purple tongue and fluffy tail. His eyes are all big and owlish. It makes him look like an old man even though he will be just a year old come thanksgiving. It reminds you of just how much he has been through. He reminds me of a little blond bear cub with a curly tail.

He also has found something to click in the kitchen though I cannot find it.

He will stop whatever he is doing and walk away at a quick trot if he notices you looking at him or hears you coming.

Corners and no way out other than past you are not a good thing. However, beyond when D picked him up at Pet Helpers, he shows no signs of aggression, just want for flight from human contact - despite eating out of our hands.

Right now at this very moment, he and Max are facing off, Colbert, with his neck outstretched can just press his nose against Max's. His tail is wagging wildly, and if you're a dog person or know dogs, these are all signs of "play with me!". I will be the first to admit that I am a total mush ball, and to see a dog that I thought was going to be a torturous journey towards normalcy wagging his tail and playing on his first day is miraculous to me.

W

Today is the day.

2007-10-04T09:50:00.001-04:00

The notorious Dogloo.

Tonight we pick up Colbert, the dogs know something is up, especially after seeing the Craigslist igloo doghouse in the back yard this morning. More to come.

Preparation: T-minus 3 days and counting...

2007-10-01T10:24:00.001-04:00

Max, Corona, and Buela.

Thursday marks the day we pick up Colbert, previously known as Zambia, From Pet Helpers on Folly Rd in Charleston.

But first some background on us. D and I (W) live in SC courtesy the USN. We live with our 3 dogs, Corona (chichi mix) , Buela (AuCaDo), and Max (Chow mix).

Corona was an ASPCA dog. Turned in for chewing, barking, whining, digging, and other destructive behavior, we were told to put away our shoes and protect the cabinets and carpets. I immediately told the representative at the ASPCA, she's still just a puppy, that's what they do. We are her 5th and forever home. She is now 2 years old, she may still have minor housebreaking issues and not like strangers, but she is a lovable little cuddle bug. If your lap is available; she is there.

Buela is our only 'breed' dog, and though we are now against people 'shopping' for a dog vs adopting one that surely needs a better life, we wouldn't return her for anything. Still a puppy at nearly 11 months, full of energy due to her breed, she is an active, excitable, endearing ball of fur that seems to live for jumping on us at 6 am, complete with a tongue bath ambush to the face.

Max is another ASPCA rescue. His previous owner, adpoted him from the same shelter we got Corona from. She is also USN and had to report to her ship in CA. We took him in hoping to break him of his fear of discipline. After 6 months with us he has developed into playful fluff ball, has developed a love of fetch and competition in Buela, is a resolute truck dog, and eager assistant in all landscaping projects, which means he just follows D everywhere.

As for D and I, we have been together nearly 3 years come New Years. We are followers of Cesar Milan's teachings, though we know that they will not be useful to us for some time with Colbert. We also believe in proper use of choke chains, micro-chipping, nail clipping, eye cleaning, discipline, love, and fun.

PS: don't know who Stephen Colbert is?

The Colbert Report: The Story of a Foster Dog.

Birthdays & Moving

Veteran's Day.

Wordless Wednesday.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from my Dog

Four years.

"Good Homes Need Not Apply". By Nathan J Winograd

A POEM TO MY FOSTER DOG, By Diane Morgan

Is it Summer yet?

"Be Gentle: I know my dog is old" By Susan Seligson

It's time for you to get into rescue.

When all other friends desert he remains.

A Dog's Ten Commandments

Fetch with Colbert

Why old dogs are the best dogs

A POEM TO MY FOSTER DOG By Diane Morgan

A Little Recap, and more on having an older dog.

An Apology for my Pit Bull by Betty Geist

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November.

Dear Foster Mom,

3 years ago.

Mystery Solved. Ish.

Top 10 Reasons to Adopt an Older Dog

Old Dogs are the Best Pets to Have.

Signs of a Bad Breeder

Happy Mother's Day

Shelter dogs aren't broken.

Colbert at the vets.

I officially have a senior dog: The Results.

I officially have a senior dog.

Cocheco Valley Humane Society Rabies Clinic March 27th Dover, NH

Need a little help from your friends?

Don't feel sorry for my boy.

From the Contra Costa Times...makes you think twice.

2 years ago today...

Home in NH.

"I Want To Quit" - In Memory of Joan Fremo.

We Salute YOU!

Mr Oreo and the Low Country Pet Expo.

You don't have to foster to helps a pet in need.

Up and Down

Ruphus.

FAQ's and Updates

Ruby, Ruby: Ruby, Ruby SOHO!

That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me!

The Cat Saga.

Back on the grid. (Picture alert!)

While you are there...

Best blog on blogspot.

2 Weeks.

Look out for Mrs Stork...a new foster is coming!

Why we foster...

LoL Dogs Stumbles Style.

Sports Illustrated

Things Colbert is still afraid of or stressed out by:

Ban Michael Vick from the NFL for life.

A year in review: it's a biggie.

Failure to launch

Oh Crappy Day!

A Vicktory nonetheless.

Vick wants to play, but what team would risk it?

Michael Vick lives in a prison in Kansas, making 12 cents an hour while plotting his return to the NFL. His houses and farms will soon be gone, the two yachts are history, and he's down to his last couple of Range Rovers.

The Daily Coyote.

Waiting on furever.

One Year Anniversary.

Something I had forgotten...

Hurray!!!

Nothing new here.

An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner

An Open Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Average Pet Owner

False Alarm

Sweet Baby

Birthdays!

YaY!!! THE VETS OFFICE!!!

The Cattle Girls.

Newbie on the way.

Ebb and fade.

Fetch Monster

OK, so I am a crappy blogger...

New Tricks, Same Dog.