Pushing ahead

I haven't had one good thing to say all week, so I just haven't said anything.  Bubba came back on Thursday after another cat incident in the neighborhood where he was living.  According to the adopter, who had seen Bubba grab and shake her own cat, this one was an attack by the cat (not hers), when they were outdoors.  Even though the cat started it, Bubba was going to finish it, and it was more than she could deal with and I can't blame her.  He is now definitely "no cats" and the same goes for any other dog I have.  I took the new boxer girl to the SPCA to cat-test early in the week.  She was ok, but not good enough to actually live with one so that pretty much cemented my opinions on trying to adopt my dogs to cat people.  Not going to happen-- it's not worth the effort on my part, adopters generally won't put out any effort, and it's not worth the risk to the cats and, consequently, to the dog's reputation. 

I'm going out to Pet Supplies Plus tomorrow afternoon with probably 3 dogs, and to Keswick Vineyard on Sunday afternoon. Some home schooler called this morning looking to get rid of her rottie, I told her all I could do was post the dog's pictures, and so far I haven't received anything.

Today I decided to get back to basics.  I took pictures of the boxer, now named Gracie, for the websites and wrote a bio for her.  I did new write ups for Belle, Bubba, and Buddy.  I answered email inquires about King.  I sent an email to someone who is looking for a boxer.  I wrote to a couple shar pei rescue groups and asked them either take Belle or cross-post her on their websites.

I rearranged dogs a bit, putting all 5 of the under 60 pound dogs together in the big kennel (Gracie, Teddy, Belle, Jeremey, and Sunny), and 5 of the larger dogs in the dog yard (Trooper, Buddy, King, TJ, and Buck).  Bubba moved over to the kennel we call the Doll House, next to Sparky, and Tasha came indoors.  All the bigger dogs had pasture time as did our own dogs, and the small dogs worked themselves up to a frenzy playing together in the kennel late this afternoon. 

All is quiet this evening.  I made baked beans and cornbread for dinner, warm comfort food on a very cool, fall evening.

Cats, dogs, and rabbits

Well, Bubba wasn't returned after all. I got an email Sunday morning saying that they would not be returning him, they are in love with him and are going to try to work through the cat problem.  I'm glad and I admire them for that but it brings up a recurring problem that I have with adoptions.  I had tested Bubba with cats and he was as good as any dog I've tried, but you just never know until they get into a home with them.  Then the people and the cat have to do their part too.  Generally I find that it's the people who are not willing to do what is necessary to make it work, namely, to modify every one's living arrangements in whatever way is necessary to provide the cat with a safe and secure living environment.  That may mean that neither the cat nor the dog has free roam of the entire house right from the start, and it may mean months, not days, of acclimation.

I am sick of people insisting that everything has to be perfect from the start with no effort on their part, whether it is with their cat or anything else.  Few if any cats are ever going to be happy about a dog moving into their home. Consequently, cat ownership has put people into a do not adopt category for me unless they can convince me that THEY can make it work.  I don't want any one's cat to get hurt and I don't want my dogs bounced around either. 

Yesterday I met a nice young couple who wanted to adopt and were interested in Buddy.  They have no cats but they live with a pet rabbit in a townhouse, with no fenced yard.  Get real.  I suppose that with the right dog and the right people they might be able to make it work, but the odds are against them and I can't see putting a dog into that position.  There is a time and a place for everything, and that is not the time and place for a young shepherd. 

I did meet another couple yesterday, however, who I would adopt to in a minute.  They were interested in King and then they met Buddy and TJ too.  They are already three time adopters.  I hope to adopt someone to them soon.  Whichever dog they decide on will have a good home. 

Aside from that meeting, the best thing that came from yesterday's adoption event, was, well, two things really.  1.  TJ made his debut and did very well with people and other dogs; I was very happy about that.  2.  VGSR's photographer took these pictures of Buddy, TJ, and Tasha. I also took King yesterday, but we already had some great pics of him. 

This week I need to get the new boxer girl and Buck to the vet for vaccines and TJ needs a heartworm test. 

And, in spite of my rant above, I also need to test the boxer girl with cats, and I need to test Tasha with small dogs.  It may be time for the final mowing of the season and it is also time to get on some fall maintenance projects that need to be completed in my outdoor dog facilities before it gets seriously cold. 

At least I now have all the dogs I've committed to taking at this point.  We are currently at 12 fosters and I've promised not to take any more until after Thanksgiving.  Any one that I get adopted now is one less that I'll have to board when we go away for Thanksgiving.

Frost and fog

Saturday morning was the coldest night since some day back in April.  We had to scrape frost off the windshields of two cars.  One had my canoe tied to it thanks to some advance planning the night before.  The full moon was still up but the sun was not.  Clay had an open house to get to at work, so we dropped off one car down by the Palmyra bridge and then he dropped me and the canoe at the Rt. 600 bridge on the Rivanna river on his way into town.  It was just beginning to get light, light enough to see the fog rising off the water-a perfect setting for a pre-Halloween float trip. 

It should come as no surprise that I had the river to myself--no other people, no other boats.  I expected that, of course, but there were plenty of other surprises.  Much of the wildlife knows our habits and they clearly didn't expect to see me floating through the fog that early on a cold morning.  Just after starting out I encountered a gaggle of about a dozen geese along the shore.  They took to the water at first and talked about it amongst themselves for a bit before taking flight all at once, beating the water with their wings and alerting everything around us.  It was still too dark for a picture, even if I had been fast enough with the camera, which I wasn't. 

I expected to see deer, but only saw two.  They may still have been bedded down.  I did encounter one big buck having a morning drink.  I didn't see him until he turned to run and might well have passed him by completely unseen if he hadn't moved. 

The water level had dropped enough that I had to do some paddling to make much progress, but I would stop paddling occasionally to pour myself a cup of coffee.  On one such occasion I floated aimlessly but silently towards a very busy kingfisher perched on a limb sticking up from the middle of the river.  It was a spot where the water was shallow, a perfect location from which to ply his trade.  He perched, looked, and then dove into the water, presumably grabbing and devouring something tasty.

I saw either a lot of osprey or the same one repeatedly but didn't see any fishing action out of them.  There were more geese, lots of ducks, and one more deer spotting.  The sun came up eventually and the fog lifted to reveal a beautiful clear, crisp, fall morning.  We are in that 6 week period on the fall that mirrors the 6 beautiful weeks of spring, sandwiched between the miserable humidity of the summers and the muddy winters that are Virginia. 

The entire trip was about 3 hours that morning.  If the water drops much more I'll need to paddle more and pick my route more carefully to avoid being grounded.  I left the beer cooler at home for this trip, needing instead a canoe-friendly coffee mug or cup holder.

The final surprise came near the end of the trip, near a bend in the river, past the sandy beach and just before the Palmyra bridge where my pick up car was waiting.  I saw something slide off a log on the eastern bank of the river.  I first thought it may have been a turtle, but it wasn't a sunny spot where a turtle might have been warming itself, and it just slipped into the water, no plop, no sound.  I drifted closer and saw the unmistakable round (and surprised) face of a river otter staring at me, and another one lolling on its back just behind the same log he had slipped off a few moments before.  They disappeared silently and almost instantaneously, into a burrow in the river bank.  A perfect ending to a perfect trip. 

New faces

TJ has really blossomed the last couple of days. I moved him over with other dogs, just females at first, and then with the boys as well. He's fine. Very friendly, happy, and relaxed now that he's settled in with others. He hasn't jumped the dog yard fence and he crates without a problem too. He's really a nice, nice dog, and quite a handsome one too.

The new brindle boxer girl needs a name.  Her rescuer had been calling her Tiger, but I don't think that's really appropriate, apart from her markings, because she is a sweet little girl.  She came from my doggie dealer (shown below) last Friday, who saved her from the life of a trailer park dog. 

She came in the house last night and has quickly learned how do the stairs and the crate.  She whined a bit when left alone crated in the office last night, so Molly had to babysit. 

She met the gang of Trooper, Trooper Jr. (Buddy), Sunny, and Jeremey today without problem.  She's a pretty boxer girl, to the extent boxers can be called "pretty" anyway. 

Finally, there is Buck.  He is the only dog I had committed to take and I had put him off for several weeks due to space.  Buck impressed Linda and that impressed me.  He had obviously been some one's dog.  He was already neutered when he was found as a stray, but no one claimed him.  She pulled him so he didn't get put down.  He's a Great Pyrenees mix, we think possibly with some Border Collie.  He's got a BC's intelligent look.  He's well mannered, friendly, and good with other dogs. 

Buck needs a good brushing and I haven't gotten any good pics of him yet.  Fortunately he has the coat to make it as an outdoor dog for a while until I can find him a home.

Satin Balls

One of the first people I got to know when I started going to VGSR outings was a woman named Sheila Grimes. She and her family were involved in the rescue and had started about the same time as me, although I had the impression that they were already old hands at this. Sheila smoked, and I was still enjoying some second hand smoke at that point, so we often found ourselves outside together. (Sheila later took a female rottie and litter of newborn pups from me and raised them, making rottie lovers out of her family and many other people in the process.)

I'm not exactly sure how this came up, but it's not unusual to have a shepherd who is painfully thin and needs to gain weight. I probably had such a dog and Sheila told me about Satin Balls. I went home, did a search on the internet and readily turned up the recipe. According to the website I first found, the name "Satin Balls" refers to a dog named Satin who inspired the creation of the recipe.

These are the basic ingredients:

10 pounds hamburger, (high fat content is both cheaper and better)
1 large box Total cereal
1 dozen raw eggs
1 jar wheat germ
1 jar unsulfered molasses
1 box oatmeal
4 packets, unflavored gelatin
Vegetable oil, flaxseed oil, whatever

I put the eggs, shells and all, in a blender with the gelatin and some vegetable oil. Blend that mixture then dump all the ingredients together and mix by hand. Add as much oil as needed to make it workable. The gelatin will cause it all to set up pretty firmly once it's all mixed. Refrigerate or freeze, depending on how much you are going to use before the raw hamburger would go bad. I added some canned pumpkin this time because I had it, it's full of fiber and helps make a well formed stool. (I spend way too much time focused on dog poop.)

It's a great recipe for putting weight on a dog. Rather than making it into balls, I usually press it down on the bottom of a food bowl and cover it with dry dog food and press the dog food into the hamburger mixture. The dog has to eat his way down to the meat so he ends up consuming the dog food as well. It's particularly good for dogs who aren't avid consumers of whatever dry food you are trying to get them to eat.

I mixed up a batch Friday evening primarily for King, although he is slowly putting on weight and is looking better.

In other news, Buddy came back, Bubba is coming back, and I took in a boxer and Pyrenees mix on Friday.

The bachelor's dog

This is TJ. He was given up to me last Saturday on the eve of his family's move. Until they can sell their house here and buy another one in their new city, they are moving into the parents' basement--a husband and wife and two children under the age of two, no room for the dog unless they put up a pen in the backyard.  I certainly wasn't looking to take in another dog now, but I really didn't know what was going to happen to this guy if I didn't.

The dog, age 6, pre-dated the wife and kids and at one time led a good life as a bachelor's dog. By all accounts he got along with the wife and kids, and still seemed happy, but as often happens, he had become largely relegated to the backyard and a portion of the walkout basement. A young man's dog often goes the way of his motorcycle, jeep, or boat after he gets married and the babies start coming. Priorities changed, and I suspect that the demands of supporting a family necessitated the move.

He wasn't happy about it, and neither was the dog, but it was probably the best thing for the dog. He deserves a home with room for him, where he's a priority too, and a full fledged member of the family. And he's young enough still that he has a good chance at a second life.

TJ pulled a German Shepherd hunger strike, but only for one day. Now he's eating, settled in, and getting accustomed to the routine around here. He's in a kennel next to Sparky and in a crate next to Sparky at night. He seems healthy, his weight is good. He needs a heartworm test and I think he may need to be neutered still. I'll have to check, but I wanted him to get to trust me before I get too familiar with him.

[Later]  I've moved TJ in with Sunny.  He seems fine with female dogs but I haven't tried him with a male yet.  He's relaxed now, doesn't seem distraught, and he does appear to be neutered so I'll probably take him out to an adoption event on Sunday.

His former family will probably get another dog someday, when their kids are older, and I'm sure they will provide a dog with a good home.

Mail bag

These are pictures of a former foster, a boxer named Diesel, from his vacation at the beach.

Diesel is one of several really sweet boxers who have sold me on the breed.

Speaking of boxers, there is one waiting for me with my SW VA doggie dealer as soon as I can arrange to pick her up.

Diesel's companion is a smaller boxer named Vader. The two dogs play constantly and had a great time at the beach.

I also received these pictures from a double adopter. This guy had adopted Ricco from me a few years back. Ricco (left) has pannus, which our Zachary also has, and requires two types of eye drops daily. He also had an older female beagle and when Mattie died he contacted me about getting another shepherd.

Since this guy was a repeat adopter, a really good home, and had taken a dog with a known medical problem, I was damn sure going to find him a great dog. He ended up with Hannibal, the other half of the Hannibal and Nemo pair that I had acquired from a backyard breeder through the intervention of another former adopter. I know I wrote a blog post about Hannibal and Nemo but I can't locate it now to link it here. [Found it, thanks to Bonnie, here's the first post about Hannibal and Nemo.]

Anyway, Hannibal and Nemo are two gorgeous young shepherds. Nemo is now Huck, and was adopted by a couple who have become VGSR volunteers. Hannibal and Ricco (shown here) have become friends and they lead a good life.