DogTales

I have two minutes to breathe and write an update about the pups. It’s been almost two weeks since I pulled them from BARC. They were stinky dirty, flea infested and had big wormy bellies. After a bath, three vet visits and one trip to a compounding pharmacy, I think they’re going to make it!

Their names are Sydney, Ranger and Shiner. They all had diarrhea which was diagnosed as coccidiosis. They were also sneezing which seems to have just been an upper respiratory thing and nothing more serious. Sydney also had a urine burn on her tummy from laying in a dirty kennel at BARC. I got them dewormed and on appropriate meds for their ailments. Now they’re active and bouncy and playful. Eat and play, eat and play.

I set up their area in a different spot than last time I fostered pups. Last time I fostered pups, I set them up in the laundry area by the back door. There was always a lot of activity and just getting in and out of the house without creating a commotion was difficult. These guys are upstairs in the spare room. I set up two crates side by side sitting on top of the plastic carpet runner stuff. I have a big covered trash can for all of the newspaper they’re going through. I also have separate bins for food, cleaning products, toys and clean newspaper. It’s all very organized. I can transfer them to the clean crate while I clean the dirty one. Plus they have a good sized area where they can tear around and wrestle and climb on me.

Friends and neighbors have been kind enough to reroute their newspapers from their recycle bin to me. I’m sure the free publications in the area appreciate that since before I’d just lift those.

I’m going to try to get some photos of them this weekend if they’ll hold still long enough. They go back to the vet tomorrow for boosters. So far, so good. And my sanity is still intact, for now.

I must have been out of my mind Sunday when I decided to pull the 3 heeler pups to foster. I just couldn’t stand the idea of them getting sick and dying at BARC. So they’re home with me.

They’ve been cleaned up and I’ve taken them to my own vet. They have sniffles, but are in generally good shape. They’re on a couple of different meds. I’m getting some excellent advice from people who have a LOT of experience with sick BARC puppies which is helpful for a novice like me. I’m keeping a very close eye on them. I don’t want anything to happen to these babies!

There are two males and a female. I call the female Sydney. The males are Ranger and Shiner. More to come.

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.

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.

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!

I was so happy to read more about the outcome of some of Michael Vick’s pit bulls. I am partial to pit bulls because I think they, and other power breeds, are misunderstood. People take advantage of their strength and their loyal nature. I fostered a pit almost two years ago and he was an absolutely perfect boy.

Anyway, it looks like there may be some happy endings for these pups in the SF Bay Area at BAD RAP as well as some at Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. Best Friends call them Vicktory dogs.

And they have new names! Clyde is now Tugboat and Bonnie is now Sundae. See their before photos. Wow, did they ever get an extreme makeover. Poodle Rescue of Houston did a very nice job.

Puppies and shelters are a bad combination. They have no immunity to the germs and diseases often found in shelters and are often too young to be given vaccinations. Getting puppies out of shelters as quickly as possible is a good thing.

Here’s a way to do just that–and anyone can help. This excerpt is from a recent BARC email:

As some of you might know we were invited to be a part of the North Shore Animal League puppy transport. Yep, they want BARC puppies in NY! Can you believe there is a “shortage” of puppies in the NE? Now, once a month they are transporting a van full of puppies from New Orleans to NSAL in NY. This is to deter people from buying a puppy from backyard breeders and pet stores. We tell you all of this to announce that the first 12 BARC puppies were loaded up last night headed to New Orleans. It was a tight fit, but they were all ready for the adventure! To think they will be playing in the snow in less than 24 hours is crazy! Thanks to the 3 fosters that raised these puppies with love and care! It’s not easy letting your baby travel across the country, but they will make a new family very happy. If you would be interested in fostering puppies for BARC or for the transport please contact Tammie our puppy lifeline coordinator. Or if you would like to sponsor a puppy for the next transport contact Julie. These ladies can fill you in on all the details. If you haven’t heard about NSAL check them out.

Puppies are fostered out of BARC, then transported to New Orleans where they and other shelter puppies make the trip to New York. I’m sure it’s quite an undertaking.

The sponsor transport cost is only $35 per pup and it’s tax deductible! (If you want a tax receipt you can send the money to Friends of BARC and specify the transport.) The next transport should be around Christmas.

Since I’m not in the position to foster or adopt, this, for me, was an easy way to help several dogs in a short amount of time. I sponsored 10 puppies–well worth the money, IMO, to help get these dogs into loving homes.

I almost backed over two little white poodles pulling out of my driveway Friday morning. The little monsters were running and playing and had no interest in getting caught. I alerted my neighbors through the homeowners association email list–just in case these little pups belonged to someone.

It was so nice to get responses from other concerned neighbors! It seems that several people were on the lookout for them or concerned about their well being.

After work, I took Wrigley for a walk, hoping to spot the Poodles. No luck.

Saturday morning, I decided to make a loop around the park, near the last spot the dogs were spotted. I was in luck! There they were, sleeping under a tree. I was expecting a chase or at least a lot of coaxing, but the let me leash them up and load them into the car–no problem!

After a nap, we went to the vet. We have a male (Clyde) and a female (Bonnie). They’re covered with fleas, but otherwise in OK shape. Clyde is light heartworm positive, but that’s treatable. Neither are fixed. Of all of the animals I’ve rescued, I think only one has been fixed.

I’ll spend the evening contacting Poodle and other small dog rescue to see if I can get these guys placed in a nice foster organization. In the mean time, I hear them snoring. Happy dogs.

More to come about these two…