Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Not a decision to be taken lightly!

There is a dark side to rescue, a side that NO rescue person ever wants to have to go, a side that we try our best to avoid at all costs but sometimes the costs are way way too much and we have no choice.

When I take a dog from the shelter I hug him, give them a treat and tell them they are safe. I also tell them they will hate me for the next few days because they get a bath, shots, worming medicine, frontline, taken to the vet and get snipped :-) LOL! But once that is all done they will love me for it...

It is a good feeling to get notes from people who have adopted bragging about how awesome their dog is or how much they love their dog. It is even funny when (and yes it happens) the one dog that drove you crazy (for whatever reason) their family emails you and tells you how what drove you crazy makes them love him even more... LOL I just sit back and laugh, silly dog.

Then there is the dark side.... when the dog isn't able to go to a home, when dog is so mentally gone that there is nothing absolutely nothing you can do and placing the dog in a home is NOT in the best interest of ANYONE'S safety.

It is the HARDEST decision in the world to make and as my one friend says to me ALL the time "You can't keep them all and you can't go live with them."

Some people believe there is a home for every dog if you just look long and hard enough. And honestly I 100% agree with that BUT does that home want another dog? And how long will it take for a dog to find that ONE perfect home that can handle him? How many dogs will die in the shelter while this one that is basically not adoptable sits in rescue and takes up a spot? How many people or dogs or things get hurt / destroyed in the mean time?

Making the decision that a dog is NOT adoptable is NOT easy or taken lightly AT ALL by anyone and especially me. However, I can not and WILL NOT tolerate a dog that is going to attack, kill, injure another dog or bite or injure a person.

There has been more then one dog that is TOTALLY fine at my house with me but as soon as he is re homed the behavior changes and the dog becomes unstable OR the dog has issues when I have people over and well that is pretty much EVERY day. You should have seen my house last night it was like Grand Central Station with people coming and going from 5:30 until 9:15. UGH! All I wanted to do was eat dinner... lol

I have a friend that said about one un adoptable dog "Just keep him!" And I wish I could but with the number of people I have coming and going, the horses, the cats, the chickens I have others' safety I need to keep in mind and I am sorry but I am not risking the life or a cat, chicken or someone riding their horse to get hurt or a person that comes over to get bit. I am not going to do.

I have one dog that I kept that I knew if in the wrong hands could be a total jerk and not a nice dog. He backs down to NO ONE, except my husband and I. He is my life, my baby and my world but he is my dog and his "aggression" issues I can handle and to me aren't that bad but someone who doesn't know how to handle a dog like that someone could and would get hurt.

I feel I have a right as a dog rescue volunteer to: #1. Save those who need saved from a kill shelter or really bad situation, not just the ones that are "highly adoptable" #2. Spay and Neuter every dog that is in my care, assist others in fixing their pets if they can't afford it and educating people on why it is important to fix your pet. #3. Make sure the community is safe and the dog is safe from harm.

I also have a duty to every dog that I bring out of the shelter to make sure the dog is healthy and happy for the rest of his life. If the dog is in physical or mental pain and I can't "fix" him or stop him from hurting then it is my duty to end his pain in the most HUMANELY manner.

The hard part is determining the dog is "mentally" in pain. You have to remember dogs can and do suffer from all the same mental issues humans have.... depression, OCD, schizophrenia, etc. The difference between a human and a dog, WE CAN TALK ABOUT OUR ISSUES and there are people to help us resolve them and medication for them. Dogs well they can't talk and unfortunately their lack of ability to communicate with us sometimes turns out to be aggressive actions that cause harm to others.

Even if I am able to work through a dogs mental issues which a lot of times I can, when he goes to a new home he is going to start all over again with new people and 99% of the time the new people aren't going to want to deal with the issues and the dog will end up returned or abused or both and then he is worse off then when I started with him.

Every time a dog is re homed they loose a little bit of themselves and "issues" can become greater and harder to over come.

The idea of a dog living his life in a mental pain and the possibility of him being abused is just not fair to the dog. I made a promise to him when I took him from the shelter that he would forever be safe and I will keep that promise.

Do I cry? Yes, not in public but I cry.. LOL Do I think about the dog everyday? Yes, I think about all my dogs everyday. However, I rest easy knowing that I will once again see them, hug them, play fetch with them and neither of us will ever feel pain again when that time comes.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Dog update

Well the vet came out Friday night after the office closed to check on all the mom's and dad's. I was not about to put them back into a car. He said that Portia (first mom), Lexus (all black one) and Caddie are 1 years old, have never had a litter before and this is probably their 2nd heat. The black and tan older one (Mercedes) he said is only about 4.5 years old. This litter is probably her 2nd, he would be surprised if it was her 3rd.

The dad's Robin is about 7 years old.. not that you would ever know it. Man that dog is happy and full of energy. VERY loving. Batman is about 5 years old. He looks older but my vet said that dogs that live outside tend to age faster b/c they have a hard life and these two dogs have FOR SURE lived outside. The tips of their ears are all melted looking from frost bite :-( Poor things. Batman has a large scare on his nose, probably from getting caught on a fence but could also be from getting into a dog fight. Happy the little yellowish colored one is only about 2 years old. MAN is that dog a cutie! I had a little sweater on him yesterday.. LOL!

So, that is the update on the adults. The babies are doing well and Mercedes had her litter Friday / Saturday. She had 4 but one passed :-( No idea why. He was a big one too. She had a brown one that is a boy first, we named him Chevy. She had the white one 2nd that is a girl and her name is Shelby. Then Saturday early morning she had the black one who is a boy named Viper. If you have noticed we are going with a car theme for all the dogs...



The other puppies we named Astro (for the mini van), Bolt because that is what broke in my friends car, Bentley and Clutch :-)

I still have two litters to go so anyone with good "car" related names please let me know!!

*************************
I can't believe anyone would want to have puppies on purpose. UGH This is a lot of work to keep them clean and I am always worried. ALL I did yesterday was clean up poo and pee and spend time with all the dogs. I am trying to spend enough time with all the dogs boys and girls but man this is hard. LOL! I had to buy knee pads last night because my knees are sore and bruised from crawling in and out of cages.

Everyone keep all paws crossed that all goes well and in 8 weeks everyone will be in a loving FOREVER home. Right now I have 21 dogs in my rescue.... with that number only going to increase because I am getting 2 females from Holmes County and of course we still have 2 litters coming.. LOL Yes, I am crazy... lol

Friday, January 22, 2010

I hope this isn't a sign.. LOL!

So I was told, a women in her mid to late 40's had cancer and passed away. She had 9 dogs. Apparently was breeding them because none were fixed. Her family DUMPED all of them at the shelter. Poor dogs.

The shelter staff and volunteers knew the dogs needed an exit plan and FAST. That is where I stepped in. I said I would take them ALL!

1 of the dogs was a bit aggressive so the shelter did not release that one. I did however, get 3 males.

Robin:

Happy (if you met him you would totally understand why we named him happy!!)


Batman

In addition I receive 1 mom dog (name pending). She is about 1 year old.

with 4 puppies that were born in the Shelter on Saturday
Also, 3 other females all pregnant!

An older female, I feel so so so so sorry for her that she is pregnant. She looks so unhappy
A 2 year old that is just a sweet heart
And a 1.5 year old that is equally as sweet

I have all the mom's in my husbands workshop in the garage. The room is heated and insulated and quit... away from the madness of all the other dogs that way they can be peaceful and away from other dogs that may be carrying something that would make the babies sick. It looks like a puppy nursery.. lol

The dogs were located in Scioto Ohio which is at the very very bottom of Ohio about 4.5 hours from me. Seriously we couldn't be further apart being in the same state!

Transport was arranged from the dogs to be taken from Scioto Ohio to Columbus Ohio were they would be picked up and transported to Cleveland. From there I would meet the transport and take them all home! I was suppose to meet the transport between 4:45 and 5:30ish.

The transport was to arrive in Columbus at 2pm. At 12:32pm I received a phone call that the person meeting the transport in Columbus and bringing the dogs back to me broken down on the side of the road. I had to come up with a new plan.

I emailed the 3 people I knew in Columbus that I thought MIGHT be able to help. Lucky for me one person, Kate responded ASAP. She could go get the dogs from the meeting spot in Columbus and then take them back to her house until arrangements could be made.

Another person Kerry said she could possible transport them from Kate to Ashland area but not until she got out of work.

In a shear panic I posted on my facebook page that the dogs were trapped in Columbus. My friend Michael replied back that he was in Columbus for work and was coming back home that night. He could bring the dogs back with him. WOOHOOO!

Here is the catch.... he was driving a small car. There were 11 dogs, in crates. how the heck are they going to fit??

Kate and Michael did some cramming and adjusting and were able to get all the dogs in the car. Michael got on the road with all the dogs probably around 6:20ish.

At 8:30 I received a phone call from his wife Marie.
"Amy, Michael's car broke down. He is in Ashland and I am on my way to get him."

OMG WHAT????? So, Marie drove 1 hour to her husband, picked up the dogs and drove to my house. Michael had his car towed back to his house.

Marie got to my house around 10:10pm. She helped me get all the boys settled in, put a tag on all their collars and worm them.

Then get all the mom's into their "nursery", get collars and tags on them and worm them. PLUS give the babies some medicine.

Of course we took a bunch of pictures too. But by the time I got into the house it was midnight.

What a day!

Seriously I shouldn't have a blog I should have a situation comedy. Who the heck does stuff like this happen to?? LOL! All I can do is laugh my ass off b/c it is all too funny!

Since the dogs went through so much yesterday my vet is going to come over to the house and check everyone out. LOL!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Break down.... ready? GO!

Holy crap what did I get myself into?? I am super excited about the puppies and I got everything ready for all three mom set up last night. I went to my vet office and talked to them to make sure I am going to have everything I need for the babies and the moms.... worming medicine, food, antibiotics, etc.

Tonight I am going to get everything read for the 3 males. They are already schedule to go Tuesday to get neutered, heartworm tested, shots, etc.

Apparently I am getting 2 more female JRT's from Holmes County either tomorrow or Friday. YIKES! So, I scheduled them for spay surgery Tuesday as well.

Lenny is coming back on Sunday. He will have to hang out with the other males. He is going to go to Christie's on Wed. She is going to work with him on the pulling on the leash thing...

*(deep breath)*
In rescue right I have
Libby - Pending
Buster -
Bumper -
Ryder -
Lucy -
Polly -
CJ -
Jeff -
Piper -
Kiwi -
Punkin -
Lenny - coming Sunday

That is a lot of dogs.... oh geez....

Someone has got to get adopted soon or I am going to be a mess.... oh geez.. ok, I am stressed out.. lol

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dog update

Ok I am going to write this blog in a crazy order so I am apologizing now. I am being lazy and don't feel like changing the order in which the photos uploaded.. LOL!

SARAH - She was the mom Rat Terrier taken from Holmes County Pound in July after her owner dumped her and her 1 week old babies there. The babies were all adopted and Sarah was officially adopted on Jan 16, 2010! YAY!! They love her and she is finally HOME! What a long road for her to get there. Spencer - You all know the drama with this guy. Well he was adopted last Monday by a nice family who knows all of his story and crazy life thus far. I talked to them twice last week and all is going well.

Spotty - Not sure I have ever blogged about him but he is 10 years old. His owners supposedly kept him locked in a crate 23 hours a day for the last year because they moved and said he didn't like living in the city. That was one of MANY MANY MANY stories that we were told so God only knows the truth. He for sure had some issues when we first got him but thanks to Christie a volunteer and foster home, Spotty has come along way and is currently being fostered to adopt by the same family that adopted Skittles who is now named Axel.
We are all really excited about this home and excited for Spotty!
Kiwi - The sweetest, cutest, best behaved love of a dog you will ever meet is meeting a potential new mom tonight! All paws crossed for this little girl. We are really excited about this home too. Family seems great!


Punkin - This poor dog was taken from the shelter days before Thanksgiving. She has an abscessed tooth and to be spayed. The women was unable to afford the expensive medical and the only reason she took her from the shelter was to make sure she did not spend the holidays alone. SO that is where I come in. The women is now a foster home and Punkin is registered with our group. I am getting her all her medical care and then adopting her out. The women is going to keep her until a home is found!



Lucy - The dog who was horribly starved. She is doing well and gaining weight. April, a foster home who has her and was instrumental in her rescue is working with her. Lucy is deaf! However, she is the sweetest dog in the world and she isn't going to let that slow her down and neither are we!



Libby - She met a potential new family this weekend and her adoption is currently pending for Sunday.




Lenny - He is being returned because he pulls too much on the leash when he walks. Other then that he is a good boy. He is coming back on Sunday and the hopefully going to a foster home on Wed.











Bumper - Oh sweet Bumper! He is the blind guy I picked up last week??? He is cute, lovable and very good but was driving my dogs CRAZY! He is ALL puppy and just wanted to play. He went to a foster home on Sunday where they have 1 playful dog around his age and all is going well. Now if we can just find him a home. LOL!



CJ- Poor CJ! He was dumped on one of the coldest nights in January with a beagle, in a box outside of the pound. His teeth are so bad that he had surgery today and most were removed. He was neutered today too. He is so scared and so small.. only 12 pounds. He has scars in between his toes from standing in a wire cage. He was more then likely used as a puppy mill dog :-( Poor guy has never known love or compassion.
He is currently in a foster home learning what love and being treated nice is all about. He is starting to understand that when we reach for him it is not to hurt him but to pet him. He stared to wag his tail :-)



The following 5 babies were all dumped at the shelter after their owner died of cancer and her family didn't want to take care of the dogs.
There are actually 9 in total. 1 is horribly aggressive and will not be released by the shelter, the other 8 are all coming to my house so they can have a second chance. Of course NONE are fixed and 2 are prego and I believe 1 (not pictured) already had puppies... so I guess I am getting more then just 8... LOL!!















I think that is all that is going on with dogs lately........ LOL!

Monday, January 18, 2010

I hate this part. UGH!

I hate days like today in rescue. WHY?? Because someone was a total asshole to a dog that it made him not mentally stable and who pays the price??? the dog! Oh and the kid with scratch and bruise on her FACE!

NOT FAIR.

This is the part I wish I could avoid but when you take in stray dogs this happens sometimes. As my dog warden has said dogs are always in the shelter for reason. The reason could be because the owners are stupid and just didn't take care of the dog or pay attention to the dog or because the dog is well not adoptable. Sometimes people don't want to deal with the "issues" their dogs has and so they just let the dog RUN..... so that is how I end up with the ones that can't be adopted out. 90% of the time the dog is able to be trained and adopted but I can only give so many chances and when the last chance resulted in a KIDS face being injured, there are no more chances. Next time it could get an eye or scar a kid and I couldn't live with myself.

UGH! I hate this part of rescue... so don't mind me I will be crying the rest of the night because people suck!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I did so much but got nothing done....

Today was one of those days were I just ran in circles. I had an appointment with a lady to adopt a dog, she was supposed to be at my house between 9 - 10am this morning. She showed up at NOON!

I had a lady coming to see Bumper just because she wanted to see him and to meet Kiwi to possibly adopt her. She was to be at my house at 10am. She showed up around 10:30ish. Met Kiwi and said "Ok Thanks." And left. ???? She was just window shopping I think.

Then I had someone come to see Libby at 11am. He as on time and was very nice. He is going on vacation tomorrow so I knew he could take Libby but he didn't bring his dog to meet her. Thought that was strange. He said he would let me know...

Then I had to run to this ladies house....... I don't know if I wrote about this but in November my Dad's friend.. a little old guy, contacted me about getting an American Eskimo. His had passed away and he would never buy another dog, he wanted to rescue one. Long story short and A LOT of work I got him an Eskimo. He was so happy and so excited. The dog came from a HORRIBLE shelter about 2 or 3 hours away.

Well his wife called me right after Christmas and told me the man had died on Christmas Eve. WHAT??? OMG!! I felt so bad. The lady can't drive and depended on her husband to do everything for her. The Eskimo that I had gotten for them needed neutered and a dental BAD! The old man had made an appointment and everything but.....

So, I went over there today and told the lady that if she took the dog to my vet that I would pay for the neuter and the dental. She doesn't have the money to do it and is worried about making ends meet as it is. That dog made Ernie (the old man) so happy to get and there is no way I can be ok knowing the women can't take care of him and would have to give him up. That dog is the one thing of Ernie she has left... ya know?

Then from there I drove over an hour to another women's house who had rescued a JRT that needs medical care which she can't afford. I told her that if she was willing to foster the dog I would take care of the medical care expenses and put her up for adoption. So, she signed paper work to be a foster home and now I have to take care of that dogs health issues. UGH!

THEN I drove to the home that is fostering to adopt Ozzie and dropped off all the paper work. She has to be the nicest women ever. She is having a crazy day too so she is going to drop off the signed contract and the adoption fee to my vet this week.

I am hoping that Ozzie's adoption fee will cover at least SOME of the Eskimo's vet care...

Now I am home and need to take care of the dogs I have here and feed horse and then get ready to go to dinner.

UGH! I did so much today and seriously nothing really got accomplished.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

This is depressing.....

Ok, I am getting really depressed lately. I have received an overwhelming number of emails from people asking to get rid of their 8 year old boxer, 10 year old JRT, 11 year old JRT, 13 year old JRT and then last night I received an email from someone whose now husband got a JRT from a rescue before they were married. They got married, had a baby the dog didn't like the baby and they put the dog outside where he has been living for 2 years ;-( I seriously emailed back and said how horrible that was for the dog. She said well he is living with the beagles we raise. Oh great so on top of being cruel to the JRT and forcing it to live outside you also have beagles living outside which you are probably breeding b/c yea lady that is what we need more dogs and beagles on top of that b/c they are not a dime a dozen in the kill shelters.

AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

What is wrong with people???

Oh and then on top of that I received an email from someone who has a Rat Terrier who is looking for a JRT to (his word) "mate" with just one time. WHAT??? Yes, that is what I do is bust my ass and getting these dogs out of shelters moments before someone is going to kill them so I can breed them and make more. OMG!!

I don't know why but dogs in shelters are really bothering me more lately. I went to the shelter to pick up Bumper the blind dog.. God is he cute! And even though this shelter is really good and really clean and the people there are nice and they really try very hard not to put any dogs to sleep I looked back at the rows and rows of cages with dogs in them. I looked at all those faces and thought how sad that no one loves them, that they are here instead of in a home. How did they end up here? Were they bought at a Pet Store? If they were someone wanted him really badly and paid a lot of money for him.. hundreds of dollars. I am sure they went home and told all their friends and family about the cute puppy they just got. Then what went wrong? Why did the dog end up in the shelter?

I don't know why but the thought of dogs being killed has been really bothering me lately. I look at my dog Petey who came so so so so close to death. I am going to be honest death bothers me, the thought of not existing really bother me. Doesn't it bother other people? That is why I have to try to save as many dogs as I possible can. I just can't imagine what goes through their minds being tossed out on the street, being taken to a shelter to sleep on a cold floor being hosed off with cold water in order to clean my cage with poo and pee being mixed with the water and spraying on me, being lead down a hall way thinking that I am finally going to be able to go outside to potty but instead shoved into a small oven looking box. Other dogs in that box scrambling to get out but the person just keeps pushing them back in. Being trapped and no matter how loud I bark no one is getting me out of this box. Having the gas turned on and filling the box. Oh is smells so bad watching some of the smaller dogs start to fall down, having a hard time breathing, things start to go black, not being able to bark any more b/c I can't catch my breath, unable to stand any longer, more dogs around me falling down......

That doesn't bother anyone???

Monday, January 11, 2010

Another good reason to spay your dog.... PYOMETRA

Pyometra is a disease of the uterus most commonly seen in female dogs. Pyometra is an important disease to be aware of for any dog owner because of the sudden nature of the disease and the deadly consequences if left untreated.

Pyometra is a result of hormonal and structural changes in the uterus lining. This can happen at any age, whether she has bred or not, and whether it is her 1st or 10th heat (although it becomes more common as the dog gets older). The main risk period for a female is for eight weeks after her peak standing heat has ended. Normally during this period, the cervix, which was open during her heat, begins to close, and the inner lining begins to adapt back to normal. However, cystic hyperplasi of the endometrium (inner lining of the uterus) – known as cystic endometrial hyperplasia (CEH) – may occur at this time for some animals, as an inappropriate response to progesterone.

Under these circumstances, bacteria that have migrated from the vagina into the uterus find the environment favorable to growth, especially since progesterone also causes mucus secretion, closes the cervix (preventing uterine drainage), and decreases uterine contractility. The condition of the cervix is a major factor in the severity of the condition.

  • If the cervix is open, the infected material can leave the body, and this is far easier and safer to treat. This is known as open pyometra.
  • If the cervix is fully closed, there is no discharge from the vulva, and like in appendicitis, the uterus may rupture and pus escapes into the abdomen, causing peritonitis and possible rapid death. This is known as closed pyometra.

Symptoms
The most obvious symptom of open pyometra is a discharge of pus from the vulva in a Female that has recently been in heat. However, symptoms of closed pyometra are less obvious. Symptoms of both types include vomiting, loss of appetite, depression, and increased drinking and urinating. Fever is seen in less than a third of female dogs with pyometra. Closed pyometra is a more serious condition than open pyometra not only because there is no outlet for the infection but also because a diagnosis of closed pyometra can easily be missed due to its insidious nature. Bloodwork may show dehydration, increased white blood cell count, and increased alkaline phospatase. X-rays will show an enlarged uterus, and ultrasound will confirm the presence of a fluid filled uterus.

Treatment
The most important aspect of treatment of pyometra is quick action. Female dogs are often septic and in shock. Intravenous fluids and antibiotics should be given immediately. The treatment of choice is an emergency spay to remove the infected organ.

***So the next time you meet someone with a female that isn't fixed and they give you some lame excuse as to why it isn't fixed like "she is never around other dogs" Ask them if they love their dog and want her to live a health FULL life or die in horrible pain??

When I asked my vet office about this they said they see at least 1 a week. So, this isn't something rare that only happens once in a great while.... it is pretty common.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Keeping no matter what

My best friend's dog passed away on Wed. My best friend, Liz and her now husband, Jeff got Blue a Husky from the APL when they were dating. The moved into a house together and got Blue. Blue was 4 years old when they got her. She was an owner surrender to the APL along with another Husky. Blue was grey and white and the other Husky was a red and white. Blue and the other dog were very attached to each other but they could only have 1 dog.

Blue was a great dog but had her "issues" She was HORRIBLY afraid of thunder. She would go crazy and totally tare up the house. Liz and Jeff went from renting to buying to getting married to having a baby to now pregnant with their second. They have had their financial issues with trying to make ends meet with Liz being in school and Jeff being in school and then when Liz had their first child she did not go back to work.

Blue had to be on medication when there was a thunder storm. She had eaten all the trim around their basement door, their sliding door, one time she jumped out of a window, another time she jumped through the screen door.. through GLASS, she freaked out in a crate a hurt herself more then once. She was great with the house cat but any cat on the property look out :-( Skunks often entered the yard and it resulted in Liz having to deal with a stinky dog. The last time Blue got skunked it was raining, cold, Jeff was out of town for the weekend and the baby was not feeling well. What a head ache.

Oh and Blue had strange eating habits. They always had a hard time to get her to eat. The old rule of just leave the food down they will eat eventually.. not Blue. I honestly think she missed having another dog around. Liz had to put water on her food, warm it, add a little soft food. I mean this was the pickiest dog I have ever met in my life!

Despite all of the craziness that they dealt with do you know never ever, not one time did I ever hear Liz or Jeff say how they were going to get rid of Blue. Even though keeping her meant they had to sacrifice things just to feed her.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Thursday night adventure

Thursday I left work around 4:45. It has been snowing most of the day and the weather said we were supposed to get a snow storm. The road were pretty covered and people were driving really slow. I didn't get home until 5:50. I had a vet appointment at 5:40. Oopse.

So, I run in the house grab Bumper (the blind dog I got on Wed from the shelter), Chaz (my personal dog) and the ran to the barn to grab Spencer and Libby.

I got to the vet right at 6pm. Took everyone in for their wellness check, rabies shot and heartworm check. I brought Bumper in last. He was looked over by 2 of my vets. They both said that he has 80% vision loss and juvenile cataracts. He is not in any pain, will never be in any pain, it isn't from abuse, just poor breeding and he will never need long term vet care so no extra expense for whoever adopt him. He is simply blind. My vet said I could probably go see a specialist and have surgery on both eyes for around $1,100 an eye and there is a possibility to restore some of his eye sight. I will leave that up to whoever adopts him.. lol

So, I came home and put Chaz and Bumper back in the house. I then let Spencer and Libby out of my truck. I figured it was snowing pretty bad that they wouldn't go far.. Spencer is off the leash trained.. Libby is NOT. LOL! Well Libby stayed close by for a bit and then discovered the driveway.. ugh. She ran down the drive to the street and down the street. I walked after her and picked her up to bring her home. Brat. LOL

As I was walking down the street I noticed that there was a set of tracks, clearly Libby's but there was also a set of big dog tracks. I didn't really give it much thought and just went on back home.

So, I got home feed horses, cleaned kitty litter, feed goats and gave them clean water, took care of the dogs making sure their bedding was all clean and gave them fresh food and water. Played with them for a bit. My husband was going to go play soccer as he does every Thursday. He was in the barn with me so he said bye and I went in the house. I took off my boats walked in the door and the phone was ringing it was My husband.

"Want a boxer" he said when I answered the phone. What?? "There is a Boxer running down the middle of our road by Jimmy's (my neighbor). Ok I said I will go get it. I jumped put my boots back on and jumped in my car.

The dog was standing the middle of the road right in front of my neighbor's house. This is the neighbor who doesn't like dogs.. Anyway, I turn on my flashers, get out of my car and start calling for he dog. Then a plow truck comes down the road. I had to waive at him to get him to stop. I was afraid he was going to hit the dog. The plow truck stopped probably about 30 feet from her. That scared the dog and it walked into my neighbor's yard. I got pretty close to it but it was scared and growling. It did snap at me but it was clearly fear. It wasn't a bad dog. It was just scared. It was a female boxer mix, brindle w/a white chest. She has CLEARLY had puppies and more then one litter b/c her boobies were hanging low. She looked young other then that.

My neighbor came walking from her barn and I said "this is not my dog, this is a stray, Tyler saw her and called me." Once I started talking loudly she got freaked and took off running. UGH!

She ended up running behind my other neighbor's house and I lost her. I looked for her but couldn't find her. When she took off the plow truck driver started back up again and left.

I walked back to my car and drove down the road and turned around. As I was coming back she was by the trash can in my neighbor's front yard. I pulled in her drive way and she jumped up on my car. As soon as I got out and started talking she ran down the road towards my house. I was so hoping she would run up my driveway but of course she did not.. down the road she went.

I was worried she would get hit by a car b/c with her coloring she blended in with the sky line and she was really hard to see. Anyway, she ran passed my house and stopped at the end of the field next to my house. I stopped my truck again and she jumped up on it and looked in like she wanted to get in the car. I got out and walked around back and opened up the back door. I was hoping she would get in. As I was standing there talking to her a car goes flying pass me. Because on a dark country road in the middle of a freaking snow storm when someone is stopped in the road standing outside of their vehicle with their back trunk/hatch open I FLY pass them and don't care if they are stranded. UGH! Seriously, I like dogs more and more everyday... lol

That scared her and she went UNDER my car. Yes, under. I got down on my hands and knees and I was talking to her. She was so so scared.

Another truck pulled up, stopped and got out to see what I was doing (a decent human being). It so happen to be a guy that lived down the street. I will be honest I think he was a few drinks in.. lol I could smell the bar on him.. lol He bent down to see her and that totally freaked her out, she started growling and barking and showing her teeth. She was not thrilled with him AT ALL. He tried reaching for her but she snapped at him and took his glove off. LOL. She knew what she was doing.

I didn't have my cell phone on me and I didn't even have gloves on me. I didn't think it was going to be this hard to catch this dog. I used the man's cell phone to call my mom so she could call the dog warden to have him come out and try to get her. They have the snare polls and I only have a heavy duty slip lead (collar and leash in one). Oh yea forgot to tell you she did not have a collar on.

45 minutes that dog took up camp under my car. A few cars passed by and just started while my neighbor and I were out there, some people stopped and asked what was wrong and one other car stopped that had 3 young high school boys in it, they stopped and tried to help too.

Anyway, the dog warden got there and tried to get her out and she freaked out and came out from under my car. She was so scared that she tried to get away. A car was coming up the road and I think the head lights freaked her out and she took off. I jumped in my truck and the car passed me. Let me set the scene for you a little better. I am standing in what should be the lane for on coming traffic. My truck is stopped with the flashers going, behind me is a F150 type truck and behind that is the dog warden truck which has a flashing light on it. The dog warden is standing in the lane that should be on coming traffic as well and the other guy is standing between my truck and his.

So, the car goes pass me while I am getting into my truck. He is driving way faster then he should be in this weather (the roads were not even close to being clear). The car was a little silver sports car, 2 door. I just knew what was about to happen b/c the boxer was running down the middle of the street. I put my car in drive and started driving. maybe about 100 feet down the road I see the silver car fish tail and slide and I hear THUD. I see the boxer fall.. like when they loose their balance and just their butt hits the ground... anyway the silver car hit the dog right in front of a house's driveway. The dog jumped up and TOOK OFF down the driveway. I jumped out of my car and ran to see where she went. She ran down the driveway and to the back of the house.

The dog warden pulled up behind my truck and I went back to my truck and told him what happened. We pulled into the driveway and followed the tracks all the way around the back of the house and it lead to a small tree line. One of those overgrown tree lines between fields. I looked at the dog warden and said she is going right back to my neighbor's house.

We got back in our vehicles and back to my neighbor's. Yep there she was standing in the back yard. She took off again and we looked for her for about 1/2 hour but couldn't find her.

3 hours, 3 freezing cold hours in a snow storm. I was so cold and so sore.. lol

The dog warden came back to look for her a few times on Friday and I looked for her but neither of us founder her on Friday. Then Friday night I was out dropping dogs off at foster homes and when I came home a note was on my door.

"I found a Boxer Mix running down the road. She jumped in my car and I took her to Vet office. Please call me if she is yours XXX-XXX-XXXX - Tammy"

I called and the lady said that the boxer was running down the road, she and a car coming from the other direction stopped and the boxer went up to the other ladies car, I opened my car door she ran over to my car and jumped in. She drove up and down my street asking people whose dog it was when finally someone told her to stop at my house. since I wasn't home she took the dog to the vet office.

I told her it wasn't my dog but I had tried to get her last night. So, last night the boxer was safe and warm and this afternoon the dog warden picked her up from the vet office. She will be at the pound for the stray hold for 3 open business days and then put up for adoption. So, she will be available on Friday.

The dog warden said he looked at her teeth and she is maybe 1.5 years old. and very very sweet. Giving kisses and wagging her tail.

She was cleared dumped by some asshole... who the hell would dump a dog in the middle of a freaking snow storm. People SUCK! And they clearly dumped her at my neighbor's b/c that is where she kept going back to and she kept looking at cars.. classic sign of waiting for her owners to come back. :-(

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Need a laugh today

The other day I received a Pet Magazine in the mail. It has all types of grooming stuff in it and clothes and hair dye... yes HAIR DYE for dogs :-) LOL!


I couldn't resist when I was looking at some of the stuff! So, I decided to snap a picture and share with all. It is a good laugh so prepare yourself.. LOL!!





This is my favorite....

have you ever seen a dog in slippers? Let alone any type of foot wear?? They walk all funny or shake their legs. SO FUNNY!!!


Sad thing is I have seen dogs with dyed hair. Actually got one out of the pound once that had dyed hair.. LOL!!



















If my dog Hobbes was wearing this the answer would be YES! LOL!!










How about fix your dog and you will not need diapers.. LOL!



This just does not look comfortable.. LOL



Poor dog. I can read the look on his face "REALLY? Yellow rain coat, all the other dogs are going to make funny of me. I am a lab, I LIKE WATER!" (not sure it really is a lab but still funny)




Ok so I will admit I do have jackets and sweaters for my dogs and yes sometimes I put them on the rescues dogs for when they go outside to go potty. When they way 5 pounds or are nearly starved to death I am not going to make them freeze just to poop. The above stuff is just funny! And the looks on the faces of most of the dogs are just funny!
Hope you had a good laugh :-)



Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I failed......

Spencer is coming back today. Not really because he was bad but because the cat wouldn't stop tormenting him.


The couple spoke to a friend who said that JRT's will kill cats. And a trainer who said the same things... I hate when people stereotype!

Can someone please let these JRTs know they can't live with cats???