A Wonderful Story

A work colleague blessed me with the gift of a wonderful story this morning, part of which I knew but I didn't know the whole. I would stop mid-morning and just smile thinking of these now three dogs....

Agnes lived out her life at Silverwalk

A friend of mine tragically lost a young dog last summer. She had a horrible summer and her other dog has been grieving the loss of his buddy all this time (I didn't know he still was). So sad - she brought in an older puppy who seemed to spark up everyone, he is a super guy but didn't quite click until....

Lady Bird went to another shelter, finally adopted even though she has cancer

Another transport/rescue friend needed a home for a black and tan Coonhound. Of course, I thought of my friend (who LOVES B&Ts), forwarded her the email with photo and then waited; immediately, she wanted to help - foster, adopt, whatever; but....

Connor the Blue-Tick, living with a wonderful family

The hound was waiting on a potential adopter that weekend...so we waited....and waited...and it didn't work out! Thus, my friends worked out transport and got this wonderful, gorgeous, young hound to my friend whose dog was still grieving.....

Scout now in ME; he is an audio/visual-phile! Really!

The new dog, according to the person telling me this, is the older dog's SAVIOR. The new hound needs lots of food and love and training but he has put the spark, love and shine back into the grieving dog's life.  He pulls the other two in his wake of joie de vivre; they are a wonderful little pack.  I haven't even met him yet; all I did was connect two people and God did the rest!

Wouldn't you be smiling all day, too?!

WW - Justus

Snoring through Saturday night's thunderstorm

Justus, my growing boy - 2nd birthday best guess - Feb. 14 :)

Observe, Dr. Watson, with Gratitude

I like observing dogs and behavior. I like seeing how they react to different stimuli, be it a tree, another dog, a bicyclist(s) going by or me. Watching them and giving them space, especially as newbies, is important. I try to let new dogs first be dogs as long as they are safe; I lower the boom aka training later.

Molly T. "again the phone?"

Howie met the boom on Sunday. I put the leash on him in his Dogloo; it
was a lovely day for a walk in the yard. I tugged gently and he came unwillingly but he came. I didn't look at him, just started walking. He tried to lay and roll-over. I tugged/released. He got up. "Good boy!  Yeah for Dodger!" No wonder he is confused. We processed in this manner 3/4 of the way around the field; at the same time, I am throwing tennis balls for Molly T. (down to 2 Xanax a day and her Thundershirt) and petting sundry other dogs.

Mami de Gund

Mami de Gund likes to jump up. She is tiny and light; it is not a problem - however, it is rude behavior. To her, I'm doing "OFF" with a sideways sweep of my hand. I then hand cue her to sit - and she does! OK - NOW I will pet you and make a big fuss - good dog!

At the 3/4 mark (so I judged), when Howie did his submissive thing, I leaned down and petted that lovely black belly; he swallowed. Howie/Dodger, I am not going to hurt you. We resumed our walk ending in the house via a new (to Howie) door. He then got to be in a house crate for breakfast: two bowls full! He did a lot of mental work in that walk.

Now it really gets cool because after everyone is fed, I let Howie out. He goes outside down the stairs via the door he knows. As I am letting the other dogs out of their crates, I see his full head poking through the dog door. I turn, move away and look out the breezeway opposite him as he comes into the house on his own. With the rest of the dogs released and in the house, I close the back door and ask Howie to join us.

Howie does just fine. I ignore him, I let him be wherever he wants to be and go about my other business. After an hour or two, I open the back door - and he goes out. However, he is always welcome inside. Good boy, Howie!  "I'll be baaack."

I was "on call" this past weekend - which is why I posted the Saturday hop and not much else. I wasn't called in - for any of our three ICUs! Goodness - this had never happened before. If any of you ever take night call, you know one doesn't sleep well - checking the phone every few hours just to be sure. I snoozed today even though I didn't work.

Gratitude: I'm thanking Pamela at Something Wagging for the two awards she passed to me this weekend: the Inspiration Award (which asks me to forward it to ten blogs; I'm thinking, I'm thinking) and the Noteworthy Archive Blog award due to her listing me on her blog-list page. How clever - and I will second her on the blog-list theme - please, review my blog-list to the right and check out the archives. So much to read, learn and laugh with! Please note Pamela's award for her photography, too :). I try to improve my photos as I see others and take hints but have a long way to go. BTW, avoid the flash camera in the iPhone 4S like the plague - it just makes your animals and people look bug-eyed like from outer space. I miss my 3GS :(.

Uff da! A lot to say on a Monday night - thank you, Pamela and all us bloggers who support, coach and keep one another in stitches of laughter and some for helping us align our blogs just right (Janet, you know who you are).  Thank you! Watch your emails and listings here for upcoming awards being passed forward.

Pooh - I missed getting into Snoopy's Monday Mischief Blog Hop but here is everyone else so hop around and have fun leaving witty, clever comments. 

Saturday Hop!

Join the Hop - we are snoozing for work tonight :).

The Last New Dogs

Howie is out of the dog house and in the pack big time - he actually barked at me in the front yard this evening, running to the side of the house and back; apparently, in his mind, it was time to eat. Good boy - just a bit early.

The other morning I fed Walter Brennan in bed. He was sleeping out front in the dirt and sun - didn't want to move so I brought his food to him. While he was eating, Howie (who had finished his food) came round the corner checking us out. I tossed him kibble bits, got him interested and now he is not quite my friend :).

Through the screen door 

Howie checking out me and Walter

For some reason, I call Howie "Dodger." Don't know why this is - he must look like a Dodger to me but he is yet a foster dog for DCAWS so he will stay "Howie" though with the nickname of "Dodger."

Today, Silverwalk Hounds welcomed the last dog for a long time - only because I am so full I have no room for the wonderful Beagles in my inbox :(. This dog needed a place to go: she was boarded in a kennel, cared for by a wonderful small rescue and vet, her dad lost his job and home - he and this rescue found homes for his multiple cats and other dogs but this very senior yellow Lab/Weim mix named Peanut had no takers. I thought long and hard, letting days go by between emails but the mission of this sanctuary is SANCTUARY. By one definition I saw (wish I remember where) a sanctuary is not from where animals are adopted - it is a place of home, of peace, in which to live out their days. 

Peanut is here to live out her days. She has recovered from demodectic mange (not contagious), has skin tags (poor V. thought she had cancer; they mostly handle mommas with puppies so she was in new territory with this old dog!) and entropion. Her lashes have been turned in for so long, she is over 14 y/o, the vet didn't want to do surgery at this stage; she gets eye ointment/drops three times a day.  Peanut seems comfortable and is still able to see.  Welcome, Peanut!

Peanut doesn't like crates though she loves this dog bed (in a crate!)

P. S. Congress dropped PIPA and SOPA after the American people rose up and said NO.  Senator Blunt of MO withdrew his co-sponsorship of SOPA. A friend of mine read "that a friendlier-to-tech-companies bill (without giving media companies or other non-law-enforcement organizations the right to act unilaterally), called OPEN, is being considered." I encourage any and all bloggers and internet users to read the bill proper and know it and any implications it may have on our freedom of speech and discourse. 

News and a Strike

Layla indeed went to her new home in Nashville, TN on Sunday. Her mom was very careful because Layla is older; Karen bonds very closely and had just put down a senior beloved two weeks prior. However, they came back and took her home. The turning point in picking Layla over all the other Beagles looked at on Petfinder? Her video - the one where she smiles into the iPhone lens :).

Sheila is doing well, has never been symptomatic of her heart-worms, so will cont. on course for now.

Stella Beagle has itches on her butt and tail; fleas? mites? I've done all I can do so she goes to the vet this week.

I don't know what has been going on but I cleaned ears last night forever! Dogs were shaking heads before hand and then afterward to clear out the fluid and wax. Good dogs! Seemed to help everyone.

Work tonight and tomorrow night - hope things are a bit more calm than last week!  Howie still won't come in the house but loves his Dogloo and knows where the warmth is in the breezeway so he be good.

Please join the Internet strike tomorrow. See this link here, contact your congressmen/women and senators; my only light in this is I read yesterday Obama plans to veto these bills - even if he does, they will be back. Let's keep some bastion of freedom in this country, now that people can be held w/o due process (did you miss that bill? allegedly it is for "terrorists" but who will define that in the future? Big Brother is here.).

I am starting to look at bills themselves, not the advertising nor the spins, but getting to the source like in eating - the closer to the source of your food, the healthier. Check out The Information Diet book re: how we take in information, who feeds us - and how we can be more mindful, just as in eating. Here is the discussion I heard on NPR with Scott Simon (he is so cool). 

OK - done with my soap box for today - gotta go feed the dogs and do some errands. Won't see you tomorrow - be well.

Treatment Options

What is happening at Silverwalk which could inspire change in the way people view, treat, train, enjoy their dogs? AGE. I thought and thought about what change I could blog about and it is age - which includes quality of life.

Sweetie Pie RIP

Raggedy Ann RIP

A couple weeks ago, I sent Allie Mae to heaven. If you followed her story, she had had a tough time recovering from simple lipoma surgery but recover she did, in splendid fashion - meaning, she again was her bossy old self. A few weeks ago, I noticed a loss of muscle mass behind each shoulder; no matter how much I fed her, she still looked like she was losing weight. Then she stopped eating. Then she couldn't walk and looked afraid. She is no longer afraid - she was in my arms, she never resisted, she calmly slipped away.  Fighting with her for her surgery recovery was right. Helping her go to heaven when it obviously was time was right, too. 

Allie Mae RIP

Friday, I found out my personal aging Sheila Sheltie has a raging case of heart-worms, adults and swarms of microfilaria. My instinct was to treat her with doxycyline (which we are doing along with liver tabs), then give her Heart-Gard (ivermectin) to slowly control the adults. My vet wants to treat her with split shots. I trust my vets - but, is this what is truly the best for Sheila, a 14+ y/o Sheltie who lost 4# this past year (that was a shocker, too).  I was so surprised by Sheila's diagnosis and weight loss because I have had several of my personal dogs in for their yearlies in the past couple months and everyone was clear - even Danny Quinn's fecal was negative, he who eats poop. 

a younger Sheila Sheltie

This evening, I had supper with a close friend whose opinion I value. After hearing about Sheila, she asked if I was going to treat her. I told her the plan; she said her plan for her three large aging dogs is to stop testing for heart-worms, cont. with preventative but she would not treat her older dogs. She is weighing quality vs quantity of life. I have a similar concern for Walter Brennan, my adoptable HW+ black & tan senior Coonhound. 

I never want anyone to suffer. On the other hand, just because we can do things to and for our dogs, do we really need to every time? If Sheila survives another year, I won't get her vaccinated - she will get bordetalla only; I do rabies every three years.  I need to think hard about her treatment and my senior population. 

Just because a dog is old is not a reason to not treat. I am not saying that; what I am saying is, think carefully for what you are treating and the benefit or not your dog(s) will enjoy.  Make a careful decision with regards to your dog, her lifestyle and activity level and your comfort level. 

I am not making a blanket decision about any of the dogs in my care. I had already questioned how I would treat Walter.  Comfort measures, treating symptoms may be the way to go for both. Would people be comfortable adopting a HW+ dog without treating him besides his monthly preventative? Walter is supremely adoptable. 

Treatment options are exactly that - options. It is us as owners, caretakers, guardians, rescuers, who need to decide the best option for each animal in our care and whom we love.   

Farrah and me