Veteran's Day.

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.

I officially have a senior dog: The Results.

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.

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.

Back on the grid. (Picture alert!)

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?

2 Weeks.

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!

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