DogTales

Mel the Australian Cattle Dog is Looking for a Home

A couple of months ago I wrote about 2 Australian Cattle Dogs I was trying to get out of Houston Animal Control. The female was adopted. I lined up the male to be transported to a humane society in Canada for adoption. I went to BARC to pick him up and realized he’d never been tested for heartworms. The vet tech said testing had been attempted several times but the dog always resisted. I figured they were probably man-handling him plus the stress of the shelter situation. Anyway, the vet tech tells me since the dog has issues with restraint he’s unadoptable and would be euthanized and I couldn’t pull him. Luckily, the volunteer coordinator stepped in and I was able to take him.

So I loaded the dog in the car and asked myself–”What now?!” I called my vet as I drove and told them the situation. He was so stressed that they did have to sedate him to do the heartworm test. He tested high positive for heartworms. While he was knocked out, I asked my vet to neuter him. For the second time within about an hour I asked myself “What now?!” And to top it off, I was about to leave town for several days.

I call him Melbourne, Mel for short. I kenneled him at my vet until I came back. I then lined up a longer term kennel that frequently helps BARC rescues. I started his heartworm treatment at PetCare Express. He needed three shots–#1 followed by 30 days of rest then shot #2. Shot #3 came 24 hours later followed by another 30 days of rest. Mel was a trooper and did really well. He just finished up his 60 days of rest.

I’d still like to try to get him into breed rescue, but there isn’t one in Texas. I have him listed on an ACD forum that has been very helpful. I’ll keep trying. I have him posted on Petfinder and on his own site, AdoptThatDog.com where you can read more about him. He’s such an awesome dog.

I lived in a duplex with a huge live oak tree outside the dining room window when I was in college. One spring, a pair of blue jays nested in that tree. I was thrilled when the eggs hatched and I saw two little blue jays in the nest. One night in their early lives a thunderstorm blew in. One of parents sat on top of them throughout the entire storm with their wings over the nest to protect them. The parents instinctually protected those little ones throughout that storm. The next morning, all birds were safe and soon the babies learned to fly and they all left.

Today at BARC, I came across a number of sweet, exhausted momma dogs with litters of pups. All were doing what they could to keep the little ones warm and safe and fed. Problem is, no matter what those moms do, if a dog foster doesn’t pull the moms and pups, all will be put to sleep within three days of entry into BARC. It’s painful to see the moms work so hard in vain.

If this alone isn’t a testament to spaying and neutering, I don’t know what is.

My Rottie, Scout, had ACL surgery last week at Gulf Coast Verterinary Specialists. Dr. Whitney performed the surgery. Scout had a Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) on her knee and had both elbows scoped. Ouch.

It was pretty rough the first couple of days. She doesn’t like to walk on a leash yet all of her activity has to be on leash for the next eight weeks. And there are meds–lots of meds. I usually wrap pills in cheese slices and she swallows it whole. Suddenly, she’s decided to chew everything. I tried a double cheese wrap. Still no luck. I now hide pills in meatballs made of canned dog food. So far, that’s working.

She’s really quite perky today. That’ll all change when I have to remove that sticky ole pain patch tonight.

People ask me how much I’ve spent on Scout’s surgery. I’ve learned that it’s best not to tell. I learned this after my Bailey had hip replacement surgery. People asked, I told, they lectured. I’m not ashamed, but I also don’t need to justify the money I spend on anything to anyone.

…or they will be euthanized.

We’ve got seven dogs at BARC whose time is up–they’ve been at the shelter for 90 days. All of these dogs have until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27. Please take a look. These dogs have been vaccinated and microchipped and the adoption fee is only $55. There are some that are low heartworm positive, but that can typically be treated with regular doses of heartworm preventative which is what a responsible owner would give their dogs anyway.

1.) UPDATE: ADOPTED! 4/21/08 A879141 Cary Grant: Time up 4/23. He’s a 6 month old shepherd mix; just a sweet young pup. 

3.) A879286 Thelma: Time up 4/25. Female lab mix, 6 months old. You might guess that there was a “Louise” who was a chocolate girl so she’s been adopted but the poor sweet black labs always get left.

 

5.) A879234 General: Time up 4/25. He’s a Shar Pei mix, 1 year old, and low heartworm positive. Really good looking dog with a very Shar Pei face, not aggressive.

 

 

I noticed several people have hit my blog searching for rescue organizations for Australian Cattle Dogs (ACDs), blue heelers and red heelers. Strange coincidence since I’m trying to get two Blue Heelers out of BARC and in to rescue. I’m really having a hard time finding any rescue groups in Texas and getting the once I do find to respond to me.

If you’re looking to adopt one of these super smart dogs, take a look a the male and the female currently available for adoption at BARC. I’ve met both of the dogs are they’re very nice. The female is extra sweet and plays well with other dogs. The male is such a leaner (I took those two additional photos of him–one leaning up against my leg!). He walks well on a leash and is just a sweetie.

Check out the cute heeler mix and another heeler mix, too.

These are only four of the many MANY great dogs available at BARC. The shelter is open to the public 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

My 7.5 year old Rottie, Scout, blew out her ACL and will have surgery in a couple of weeks to try to fix it. In order to get her weight down (she doesn’t exactly have a girlish figure), the surgeon wants her to go on the South Beach Diet. I’m supposed to take the total amount of food she eats per day, then replace 1/2 of it with pure protein–low fat cottage cheese, chicken, ground turkey, tuna, etc. That total amount of food should be divided into 4 portions so she’ll have 4 smaller meals per day. I’m going to give it a go starting this weekend and see how it goes.

Scout will have tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery performed by Dr. Whitney at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists.

More to come…

OK, maybe not Hollywood, but YouTube.

The owner of the doggy daycare Wrigley visits a couple of times a week shot a really cute video of him. Hopefully this will help market this cute dog and find him a forever home! Be sure to watch the whole video–the end is pretty cute. What a ham.

Friends of BARC is holding a pet adoption event in the Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot at 3102 Kirby at West Alabama on Saturday, March 29 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to see some of the great dogs and cats available from BARC. Download the flyer.

Can’t make it to this event? Visit the BARC shelter. You’re sure to find a furry friend while savings a wonderful animal in need!

Most adopted dogs have the birthday of January 1, but in Remy’s case, his birthday really was January 1. I adopted him on Valentine’s Day 1998 at the Houston SPCA as a 7-8 week old puppy. He was one in a litter of 4 pointer/terrier mixes that had been surrendered by their owner. He put his paws around my neck when I picked him up. I guess he picked me. He went home with me in a cat carrier.

For the past 10 years, Remy (Remington) has been a perfect dog–sweet, loving, smart. But he’s also has medical issues off and on his whole life. In November 2006, he was diagnosed with Cushing’s Disease. He responded well to meds, but hit a point where his little body was no longer responding to them.

Here is a picture of him I took yesterday when we were spending some time outside together. He looks so tired. 

Today I put my baby Remy to sleep. While I am suffering from the loss, I know my sweet boy will no longer suffer.

I’ve spent countless weekends at adoption events with my black Lab mix foster dog, Wrigley, only to have people pass right by.

Unfortunately, “black dog syndrome” is a reality. It doesn’t matter what kind of colorful bedding Wrigley is sitting on or what type of cute bandana he’s wearing–he’s still a black dog.

People! Open your minds and judge dogs on their personality and not the color of their fur!