False Alarm

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

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!

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!!!

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.

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.

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.

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

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...

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.

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.