Six weeks of Patch

Patch was pretty pathetic when he arrived.

Here's a compilation of pictures that show the transformation of Patch over the last six weeks or so. He came further, faster than I thought he would and he was actually one of the easiest fosters.  He required several vet trips, lots of medication, and frequent baths, but he got along well with everyone, he was well behaved indoors, never gave me a moment's trouble.  He was adopted today, starting a new life in a great new home.

He was missing a lot of hair.

Patch had more baths in a few weeks than most
of my dogs get in a few years.

He ate his pills along with his
food, which made it very easy.

He loves a good roll in the grass.

He started looking better very soon.

Patch loved to be touched and people
seemed to want to touch him wherever he went.

The surgery was a rough day but
he bounced back quickly.

His smile and his wag came back
along with his hair.

A look of trust and love

This dog touched a lot of people.  Thank you everyone who sent donations, food, medications, supplements, good thoughts and well wishes.  He appreciated it all and so did I.  

Vet check, Patch and Anna

Patch was up to 81 pounds.  We'll finish the medication he's on and then just see what happens.  The only thing new she suggested was a food trial with a limited ingredient diet. I'll discuss it all with the adopter tomorrow, but I think he's good to go. 



















Anna weighed only 60 pounds, no gain.  The blood work we had done was all normal so there's no obvious reason.  I did get some droncit to knock out any possible tape worm and some metronidazole to treat any bad stuff in her gut that might be interfering with digestion.  She's being wormed again as well.  We will try this for another couple weeks and continue on the grain-free food and see if she starts to put on any pounds.  I'll also bring her in the house when Patch leaves; that might calm her down.  She's very high strung and she may just be stressing off the weight.  Shepherds. 

A couple of quickies

I didn't get much work done on Monday so I've been trying to make up for it the last couple of days.  Still, I got in a quick (3 mile/45 minute) walk in the woods with Max.

He is so good on our walks.  Partly it's the fact that we are alone in the woods, plus the fact that he has the leash, the trail, and me to guide him.  He doesn't pull as much as Sparky so I get no help on the hills from him.  Sparky has mastered the quick sniff and move on routine.  Max wants to stop and examine everything that smells in detail.  I found that I was actually pulling him to keep him moving along.

I do think he'll make someone a fine dog if he's the only dog and someone walks or runs with him religiously.  Exercise and activity will not be an option, it will be mandatory.  I may ask the eventual adopter to take an oath:  "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night shall stay this dog owner from the swift completion of a daily three mile run."

"I do not need a bath, I do not want a bath."

Look at all the fur on him now!

"Ok, make it quick."

After I finished work Wednesday evening I also gave Patch a quick bath. He's wise to the bath routine now and I had to drag him to the tub and hoist him in, but once he was in and wet he was really pretty good about it.  We have a final vet visit tomorrow to check his progress and consult with the vet about next steps.

I'm really pleased with how far he's come.  He's got enough hair now that he even left some in the bathtub, which he didn't do in the beginning.  He will have a beautiful coat in a few more months.

I said "final vet visit" because Patch will be going to his new home on Friday afternoon.  He's ready.  He no longer looks and acts like a lost dog around here. He is ready for a new life so it's time to get him settled in a new home.  I couldn't be happier about where he's going.

He looks better and better after each bath.

Cold day, hike and play

It felt like winter today and apparently there were a few snow flurries around, although I managed to miss them.  This is great hiking weather though; Sparky and I did not miss that. 

We are doing a mile in about 17.5 minutes, which is moving along at a pretty good pace.  I let Sparky set the pace.  He can go as fast as he can drag me along.  He thinks we should do a 15 minute mile, but I told him he should enjoy the sights and smells and not watch the clock.  That got us into a long discussion about the need to pee and poop in the woods and check for every other dog who has done the same. 

Until I can set the pace, he tends to win all of those discussions. 

 It was a great day on the trails.  Because it was cloudy, cold, and windy, we had them all to ourselves.  I have a new app for my phone called "Map My Walk."  It uses the GPS in the phone and actually creates a map as you walk.  It also has a "coaching" feature, which consists of a voice that tells you when you've completed each mile.  I had to turn that feature off today because Sparky heard the disembodied female voice and had to stop and look around to find its source.  It's pretty cool though, it tells you the distance and time that you've walked, how many calories you've burned, and your speed, in both miles per hour and minutes per mile. 

Ochie

Ochie and Maya

Maya talking to me

The cold weather makes the dogs really active outdoors.  Ochie was born for this kind of weather and he's as happy as can be.  I looked out the upstairs window this morning and saw five dogs on Playstation K9 all having a good time.

After Sparky and I got back home I did poop patrol in the dog yard and got a few pictures of the fosters, plus Maya, having a good time.  The best thing I saw today though was Max actually engaging in normal play behavior with the other dogs.  He's still a bit socially awkward, but he was trying, and Maya was encouraging him.  He's still a bit crazy, particularly at feeding times when everyone is excited, barking, and jumping around, but he's probably 75% better than he was.  I don't care what anyone says, Prozac has worked wonders on that dog and has probably saved his life.  

Anna and Franklin

Franklin and Maya

Max with his ball

Clay's dog

Zachary came to us as a puppy.  He was emaciated; you could see every bone in that dog's body.  He was given up along with his father and an unrelated female shepherd. They were all very thin and both Zach and his father had a digestive problem that prevented them from getting much nutrition out of the little bit of food they were given.

When we got them home, Clay brought a very skinny and scared Zachary into the house and laid on the sofa with him.  The bond was formed.  I'm the one who fed him, took care of him, and dealt with his messy and disgusting dietary requirements, but Clay was the one he loved from that day forward and it never changed.

That's Zachary greeting Clay when he arrived
home from work, along with Emmylou, Cabell
Molly, and Bremo.  Only Cabell and Bremo remain
from that group and they are 13-14 years old.

Zachary with his food, raw food and grain-free
dry food.  He's looking at me instead of the food
because he would only eat when left alone with it.

Zachary laying in the shade in the dog yard.
That's Ryland on his right.

Zachary at the vet.  He was one of the easiest
and most cooperative dogs we've had when it
came to handling and treatment at the vet.

Zach was a poster boy for a variety of ailments that disproportionately afflict German Shepherds.  We learned a lot and have applied what we learned to a lot of other shepherds that came our way over the years.

He got to spend the weekend at home close to Clay, which was always his favorite thing to do.  But we were seeing no signs of any improvement in his condition and his quality of life was no longer what we would wish for ourselves or any of our dogs.  It was time to let him go.  

Zach in the front room next to Clay's chair.
He would get Clay up early so they could
spend time there before Clay went to work.
Clay might have preferred to sleep a little more,
but he would get up and sit with Zach.

  

Zachary epitomized the breed in many ways but particularly in his loyalty and devotion.

It is my hope and wish that everyone has a Zachary in their life, and even more so, I hope that we can all be that dog -- that devoted and that loyal -- to someone else.

Sunday hikes with dogs

Clay has been sitting with Zachary in the front room all day.  That's Zach's favorite thing to do.  His condition is unchanged as far as I can tell.  I'll make an appointment with the vet for Tuesday for an assessment.

I didn't want to go far from home today because of the need to care for Zachary so I skipped the adoption event up in Gainesville but I didn't really have anything else I particularly had to do.  So today was the day to hit the trails again with my personal trainer, Sparky.  I don't go into the woods during tick season but we've had a few freezes now so I decided it must be safe.  Sparky was ready and willing and we had a good hike, not too long, maybe a little less than an hour.  Sparky hadn't been out there in a while so he had a lot of sniffing and marking to do.  Oddly, he had no interest, zero, in any of the piles of horse manure we passed on the trails.

I came back home, puttered around for a while, and then went back out with Max.  It was the best experience I've had with Max.  It was just him and me, and I think that is important for him.  He gets overstimulated in a crowd of dogs and just goes crazy.  Also, he's been taking Prozac for a month now and I think it has made a difference.  He doesn't do nearly as much tail chasing and even when he does he isn't doing the hysterical screaming.  I've actually observed him interacting normally with other dogs in the dog yard.

On the trails with me today there was no trace of the high strung, neurotic Max.  He barked at some horses we encountered on the trails, but it was a bark, not a scream, and he never went into tail-chasing mode.  The right placement for him would be a relatively quiet home, one man/one dog, no small dogs or cats, and no screaming children.  Max also did quite a bit of sniffing and marking, but unlike Sparky, Max was quite interested in the horse manure.

Between the two walks I probably covered six miles.  I will sleep well tonight.