When it rains, it pours

Eleven dogs in a house without a mudroom during a three day rain event is no fun, but I'm actually not here to complain about the weather. It is winter, and I guess I should be happy that it's not coming down as snow.

The title of this post actually refers to the abundance of vet visits I've had this week. I don't particularly mind a drive to town and back, or two if the dog is in for the day, but it takes a big chunk out of my work day, which leaves me working still in the evenings and feeling a bit stressed.

On Tuesday R.W. went in for his dental appointment, which resulted in 12 extractions and a possibility of more in the future. That was two trips to town on that day, followed by two more trips the next day when Dobby went in to be neutered. Normally I'd come home and get a few hours of work in before going back to pick up the dog after surgery, but they called before I was even home from dropping him off, asking me to come back as soon as possible after the surgery because he was very stressed out. Being blind and deaf and dropped off in a strange place with no familiar smells would be scary, so I sympathized with Dobby and did pick him up early in the afternoon, but that meant I really didn't start work for the day until mid to late afternoon.

And then, I decided that Maya needed to be seen on Thursday, even if it did mean three days in a row of making trips to town in the middle of the day. She has been licking her front left paw for probably two weeks now for no apparent reason. I've tried soaking it, spraying it, and even put a cone on her, but it didn't seem to be getting better. Yesterday I saw that she had figured out a way to get to the foot and lick it even while wearing the cone, so I said, fuck it, we need to go to the vet.

The exam didn't show anything obviously wrong, except an injury to the edges of two of her pads, which seemed to be healing. We are going to stick with the soak, the spray, and the cone and see if it will continue to heal to the point that she stops obsessing over it. We made it her annual exam so the trip wasn't entirely wasted. She got the kennel cough vaccine and heartworm test. I declined the lepto this year because it made her very sick the last time she got it. And at least I found out I was on the right course of treatment for the foot. If anyone has any suggestions for something that will prevent her from licking it, I'm open to them.

This is the paw she licks and you can see
that it's between those two center toes.

Maya isn't bad at the vet, but she is extremely
anxious and scared.
 I think she learned that from Trooper.

The growth on her forehead seems to be a cyst. I'd like to have it removed, but it doesn't
warrant anesthesia on its own. Maya may be due for a dental next year, and we'll have it off then.

Puppy Bowl XVI

And it came to pass that two Green Dogs pups, Killian and Kismet, were chosen to participate in this year's Puppy Bowl. Killian, of course, is one of Della's 12-pack. There was a watch party at Three Notch'd Brewing Company sponsored by Animal Connection - All Natural Store for Healthy Pets in conjunction with Green Dogs Unleashed.

Della greeting Astro (formerly Guinness).

The black and white shirt Astro is wearing is a harlequin
jersey to show support for Killian, who is a harl.

We found a spot as out of the way as possible,
but Della isn't fond of crowds unless everyone
is solely focused on her.

Here's Killian, the star of the show.

We did see a lot of people we knew, including
my long lost friend Jennifer.

Two more of Killian's siblings, Maze (formerly Chimay) and
Bodhi (formerly Modelo).

Killian licking something (beer?) off the table
while Maze watches.

Another sibling joins the cheering section. That's Augie
(formerly Paulaner) in the middle between Maze and Bodhi.

Jen gives good hugs. It may be her best thing.
We've known each other for nearly 20 years.

It's time to go home now.

Here are three video clips from the 4th quarter featuring Killian.

RW is a good dog

I've delayed doing a write up on R.W. for over a week now because I wasn't sure what to say. One on hand he settled in very quickly, learning the routine, and more or less falling in line with it. On the other hand, it took a while for him to settle in enough to show me what he's really like.

R.W. is 11 years old. He's neutered, he's heartworm negative, he's about 40 pounds soaking wet. He's good with other dogs and showed zero interest in a cat. He's fine being crated although I doubt that he needs to be. I gave him a bath and he was surprisingly good about that and it seems to have stopped his scratching and flaky skin.

R.W. was an older man's companion and that would be an ideal role for him in a new home. He'd be just as happy with a senior woman. When Clay comes home in the evenings he sits in the front room of our house in a recliner with his laptop and the TV on. R.W. positions himself very near Clay's chair and will sit with him all evening. I'm rather certain that he did a lot of that in his prior home. He looks like that's where he belongs and what he expects to be doing.

R.W. often has a serious look on his face. He's not a smiley dog. At first I thought he was worried, but now I think it's more about him just trying to figure things out around here. I think he'd be a good alert dog, he tends to bark anytime he hears another dog bark or hears some action in the house that he mistakes for a knock on the door. He actually reminds me a lot of our late Vince, who was also very serious dog. R.W. is just trying to figure out what is going on around here, why there are so many dogs, and how he fits in.

R.W. has already seen a vet and aside from some arthritis in his joints, he's in pretty good shape. He has no problem doing the stairs at our house. On Tuesday he's going to the vet again to have his teeth cleaned, and I'm going to ask them to clean out his ears at the same time. By Wednesday, R.W. will be ready for a new companion and a new home. He's an easy dog and a good companion. He will be adopted through Peaceful Passings Senior Animal Rescue. Contact me at vadogrescue@gmail.com for adoption information.

Adopt Me: Hammer and Kami

We have six foster dogs here tonight and I'm trying to plan a trip in March, so the number one priority around here is getting some of them adopted. With that in mind, here are some pictures and info about two of them, Hammer and Kami.

Kami I've had the longest and it's my fault because I haven't been taking her to adoption events with Promises Animal Rescue. She's a great girl, female, white German Shepherd Dog, about two years old, maybe 55-60 pounds. Kami is crate trained and house trained. I don't really know about kids and cats. Kami is definitely dog-friendly after living around here for a few months. She's already been spayed and her vaccines are current. She is lively, energetic, loves to run. Kami is not a couch potato. Here is a link to the Promises website page with adoption information and application: Click here.

Hammer is less than two years old, neutered male, lab-mix. He's crate trained for sure and I'd consider him to be housetrained by now as well. He's good with other dogs. Hammer is a bit shy but if you show him a bit of kindness and affection, he'll roll over for belly rubs and then be your best friend forever. He wants and needs a home. Hammer has a short little tail that won't hurt you when he wags it. He loves to go for walks and he's really pretty good on the leash. Hammer is available for adoption through Green Dogs Unleashed, click here for adoption information and application (under forms).

Copper

When you're as jaded and cynical as I am, you think you've heard every dog dumper's excuse, but this was a new one for me. Copper was given up to a shelter along with another dog after the owner got a cat and decided that cats were easier.

Copper was terrified in the shelter and would back into the corner and snarl and bark at anyone who approached. Dogs like that generally do not make it out of a shelter alive. But Erika and another volunteer went to the shelter, got the dog out, and discovered a new dog once he was outside of the scary place. I picked him up and brought him home in a crate in my van, but had the same problem getting him out of the crate once we got home. Erika came over, and I used a trick I had learned with Smokey and we got him out of the crate. Once again, he was a different dog once he was out, but he has some trust issues so he's dragging a leash for now so I can get a hold of him when I need to without reaching for his head.

Copper had absolutely zero problem with any of the dogs and we threw a lot of them at him in a pretty short period of time. Della barked at him and gave him the "my house, my rules" speech, but he didn't react badly at all.

At least he's out of the shelter and we have a chance to see what he kind of dog he really is. Copper is about four years old, male golden/chow mix, good with other dogs, that's about all I know at this point.

Here's Copper with Theo, Maya, Della, and R.W. He also met Serena,
Trooper, Kami, and Max. He will spend the night in my office
along with Hammer and Dobby tonight.