Finally, Karma gets spayed

Going to the vet's office Thursday morning.

Karma finally got spayed today. I took her in, stayed with her through the ultrasound and the first sedation shot. We put a muzzle on her for the ultrasound (making sure she wasn't pregnant), but really she was pretty good with me there. She went out like a light after they gave her the first shot and I helped put her up onto the lift table. Then she went to surgery and I went home. She was happy to see Clay when he showed up to bring her home late this afternoon. She's still very sleepy and hasn't really moved much from the spot in the front room since she got home.

They had a big blanket on the floor for her to make her
feel comfortable. It also made it easy to pick her up after
she was sedated.

She's on her way to a new home, but that won't happen until November 16th and in the meantime she's really settling herself in around here. She came to the bedroom with our pack the night before the surgery because she didn't like being alone and Karma is very vocal about things she dislikes. She's a pretty girl and full of personality.

After they gave her the shot, she laid down
next to me and fell asleep fast and hard.

Here she is back at home, sitting in the
front room with Clay for the evening.
I'm not sure yet if she'll want to come
upstairs at night.

These last two pictures aren't after surgery, they are actually
the morning of the surgery but before we went to the vet.

After Clay left in the morning, Karma climbed up into the
bed in his spot. I awoke to find her next to me.

Pictures from a Brighter Day

Today has been cloudy and damp, although the rain didn't start until later in the afternoon. It was the one day this week I didn't have outside commitments, so it was a good day to stay inside and work. These pictures are from earlier in the week, Monday I think, when we had Mo-Dean for the day.

I was working but I took him and Maya out for a late day walk, followed by an even later in the day romp in the pasture with the big dogs.

These were taken after Diamond had gone off to her new home, so Karma is with the household pack now where she will remain until she's adopted.

Diamond is doing great in her new home. It sounds like she's very, very happy there. Karma has moved inside. We kept her in a crate in the kitchen the first couple nights. She fusses a bit but then settles down. Last night she vocalized her displeasure louder and longer than ever, so I think we'll just bring an extra dog bed into the bedroom tonight so we'll all sleep better. Her house manners are excellent.


Here are Della, Serena, and Maya playing in the kitchen:

Serena, Karma, and Della

Here is Della playing with Mo-Dean:

Here is Maya playing with Mo-Dean. They are pretty close in size now.

Karma is very vocal, very talkative.  Much like Maya.

And here is Serena with Mo-Dean. She's not convinced that he's really big enough to play with yet. Maybe in a few more weeks, or months.

Max and Theo were out here too, but I didn't get any good pictures of them.
The sun was fading fast.

Karma's Day

Going to the vet this morning. She runs right for the van
and hops in. She rides well.

Karma's day didn't go as planned. Whether it was better or worse depends on your point of view, I guess. From Karma's position, it was definitely better.

I took her in to be spayed this morning. I had forgotten, however, that Karma is suspicious of, and slow to warm up to strangers. They put her in a run but when they went to retrieve her she did her growly/talky thing that can be off-putting to strangers. On top of that, the vet had an emergency, and as a result Karma didn't have surgery today.

Clay picked her up after he got off work and she was very happy to see a familiar and friendly face. After they got home I took Karma out for a hike. It wasn't too long, about 2.6 miles, but she really enjoyed it. It was quite possibly the first time she's ever been on a hike in the woods. She doesn't pull on the leash, but she walks back and forth in front of me so I was constantly bumping into her or kicking her heels. She was fine if I just held her on a short lead by my side, but when I gave her the full six feet she was inclined to wander.

Coming from from the vet, no surgery today.
She was very happy to see Clay and to hop into his car.

We had a nice walk and I tried to feed her outside after we got home but she was more interested in coming in than she was in finishing her food. She spend the evening in the living room with Clay where she repeatedly tried to climb up onto the sofa. We'll crate her in the kitchen again tonight, or maybe in the office.

She's now scheduled to be spayed on Thursday. I'll take her in and stay with her until they are ready to put her on the table. Her adopter is scheduled to come for her on November 11th. Until then, we have three female Danes in the house.

Out on our hike late this afternoon.

Karma is a happy hiker.

Grazing like a cow dog does.

Mother Diamond

Diamond, the mother of them all. Well, maybe not all, but it appears that Diamond was bred many times and she probably produced many of the 32 dogs seized from her prior owners. Diamond is a big girl, mostly deaf, but with a good, solid temperament from what we've seen. She was spayed last week. She was adopted today.

Her breeding career is over and she has begun a well-deserved retirement in style.

Diamond has gained a good amount of weight, but what she needs now is a new fur coat. That's something that time and good nutrition will provide. I look forward to seeing her when she's got new, clean, white fur that covers her thin and bare spots so the only pink we see is in her eyes and mouth. Diamond will have the best of care, and she deserves it.

She rode home in style, laying down in the back seat soon after leaving here. She has quickly bonded with her new person, needing the security of course, and also sensing that she has a new and better life ahead of her. Diamond has made herself at home in the car, on the sofa, and in her new person's bed already tonight. I may be happiest about Diamond's adoption of any from this group of dogs. She was exploited shamelessly for years, now she's going to be loved for herself, not for what she can do for someone else.

Night time sleeping positions

Serena and Maya were in position when Della decided to
settle down in between them, a flagrant violation of the
one dog per bed rule. Della makes a lot of her own rules.

When Vince was alive he slept on the dog bed closest to me on my side of the room. That was Vince's bed and he had very strong feelings about that. He believed in one dog per bed, and he especially believed that no one else should ever be on his bed. If another dog got in Vince's spot I'd have to make that dog move because otherwise Vince would pace around all night long, he would not use another bed. He also objected to any part of another dog encroaching onto his bed from the adjacent bed. Rules are rules and Vince was a stickler for bedroom rules.

This is the smallest bed in the house. I set it up for Maya
under my desk thinking that no other dog would use it.
I was wrong.

Because Vince's bed was so exclusively his, it went vacant and unused for a while after he died. Eventually Serena took it over. Like Vince, she thinks that's her spot and prefers to have it to herself, but she will use the adjacent bed if another dog (usually Della) grabs it first. The rule against encroachment has been completely abolished, mostly because Great Dane legs need more room when they feel like stretching out. Della also flouts the one dog per bed rule and often moves in to "share" when a second dog is already in her spot. It's a good thing that Vince wasn't here when the house was overrun by these lawless Danes. He would not have been a happy dog.

This is Della doing the upside down
twisted sprawl.

It does not look like a comfortable position.

The position I really don't understand is the head on the
floor position. Makes my neck hurt just to look at it.

Mo-Dean was with us during the day last Thursday. I went
into the bedroom and sat down and he popped up onto the
bed and settled down. I suspect he does this at home.

All my girls seem to want to be on my side of the room at night. It used to be just the two Danes
but now Maya has taken to moving in and sharing any empty space left between Della and Serena.
I'm just glad they all get along.

Some Recent Walks

It's a rainy Sunday morning so I thought I'd share some pics from recent walks.

Sometimes I take Maya out alone. We both like
that on occasion.

This was back a week or so. Jan and
Paul with Duvel and Chester
walking with me and Maya.

Chester is a very sweet boy.

Duvel is very sweet too.

The river has been so low this year.

Maya and Trooper and I did 2.6 miles on
Saturday. It was a beautiful day.

It was a little too far for Trooper, but he enjoyed it.

We encountered an off-leash dog at one point. I pulled back suddenly to turn back and Trooper
stumbled and fell. Maya immediately jumped between him and the on-coming dog to protect
him when he was vulnerable. Very proud of her. Fortunately the off-leash dog did return to
the owner when she called so we did not have an incident.

I did a second walk yesterday with Della
and Serena.

What are these?

The fawn color isn't as striking perhaps, but Serena has a
beautiful form.

Della is pretty good on the walks, it's
Serena who pulls hard.