Dear Midwoof

I am published. Dear Midwoof is me. There should be a Feb issue appearing soon.

Happy Birthday Cheetah & pups!

[pictures to follow later]

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I helped Cheetah whelp in my bedroom closet. Feb 2, Cheetah will have her honorary 2nd birthday (since we don't really know her actual day) and 7 of the puppies will turn 1. Feb 3 the youngest will celebrate her very own day to herself :-)

I can't begin to tell you the impact that Cheetah and her babies had on me. It was not something I wanted to share at the time, but with a little time, I am ready to share a pretty intense story how our lives intertwined. In many ways I feel that Cheetah saved me as much as I saved her.

January 2009 I got a call from the head of our rescue. We had pulled a dog who was not on the list but she was so pretty and sweet that the transport could not resist saving her from certain death. She was chunky and a little shy, and her name was Anastasia. She was adopted immediately off of the transport by a nice single woman who lived nearby. But when they took her to the vet - surprise! - Anastasia, now renamed Cheetah, was expecting "at least 7 puppies." I was the only one Kristina (rescue founder) could think of that could possibly take this on. We were still a pretty tiny rescue at the time. Poor Mr PM listened to me on the phone knowing something was up. I had to help - there was no one else to do it. But I cautioned, I was in the middle of an invitro cycle and these puppies had to be out and with other fosters the second they were weaned. (yeah right)

So into our house entered what Mr PM dubbed the trojan dog; sneaking 8 additional dogs with her! I was immediately taken with her. She was sweet natured and very sedate (ha!) and followed me everywhere. I took her in as we suspected her labor would approach so that she could get used to me and the house before giving birth. I would sit and watch her belly undulate and twitch and she would just look at me as if wondering what in the world had happened to her world. I read everything I could get my hands on about whelping. For some reason I was entirely confident we could do this despite the fact I had never done it before. She was a larger breed, unlikely to have complications and by the time she had her puppies, I felt like a certified midwoof.

In the mean time, I was going through my own pregnancy fun. I was taking my hormone shots to stimulate egg production so we could start ivf. The big day arrived and I went in for the procedure, where they put you under general anesthesia and aspirate your egg follicles with a needle. Turns out I was a bit prolific and we had a good showing. :-) They took the eggs and proceeded to fertilize them all and would report to me the next day that we had 10 embryos out of the over dozen eggs they had gotten from me! To put it in perspective, the woman in the bed next to me yielded 3 eggs. So we were pretty pumped. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I came home on vicodin because it was pretty painful - and I was supposed to stay in bed the rest of the day. But I had a funny feeling about Cheetah, who insisted in burrowing into my closet. So instead of laying in bed, I hauled a bunch of boxes out of my closet and moved all of my clothes, lined the closet with newspaper, and got out my whelping supplies while Mr PM was out at the pharmacy. He was none-to-pleased with me when he returned to discover my little moving job. Before my procedure we had prepared the spare bedroom with a place for Cheetah, but she wanted none of it.

My mom called to see how I was doing and I looked down and there was a puppy in the closet with Cheetah! That puppy was Mocha and she was being dragged around by her umbilical, as Cheetah had not yet birthed the placenta. So I basically hung up on my mom and began my long vicodin filled night of delivering puppies. And so went the day Button was conceived. All went really well and we delivered 9 live pups - a few of which I had to stimulate into breathing but they all made it! I put them all in a laundry basket lined with soft towels and blankets and a hot water bottle. It completely amazed me how trusting Cheetah was with me – not to mention what she let me do to her in the way of examination, etc. She sat in my lap for a lot of the labor and pushing.

Cheetah wanted nothing to do with nursing the puppies and was snapping at them. A breeder I spoke to said that was fine until she finished birthing (turns out this was bad advice). We took Cheetah and the pups to an emergency hospital when she continued to push and there were no puppies (she was, in fact, done; but better safe...) and while there, we lost the smallest pup. At that point I had Kristina and the owner, who both attended most of the whelping session, hold her down and I latched all of the puppies. I wasn't screwing around anymore. We also had the oldest and smallest pups tube fed to make sure everyone was hydrated and fed. I still blame myself for the loss of that one little female. I made the mistake of entrusting her to the vet on duty, who was, quite honestly and frankly - a complete ass. (I later saw her not be able to differentiate Cheetah’s uterus from her intestines on x-ray!!! *I* could do that and I did not attend veterinary school.) I feel I could have done a better job of re-stimulating that puppy. But in the end I guess it is what it is (and I am a control freak). Now I know for next time, if there is one.

Following is a list of the pups to refresh everyone’s memory:

PUPPY 1: “Mocha” (now still Mocha) Born 2/2/09 at 8:55pm – 11.5 oz female. True to her name, Mocha is a red merle. Mocha seems like she may be the first to walk – classic overachiever first child! :-) She became very talkative and loved to try out her voice in growls and barks. She led the pack in learning how to scale the fence of her enclosure (thanks a lot Mocha). She was adopted by a great guy in NJ who I have known for years and he is wonderful to her. She is very social and playful and is doing great!

PUPPY 2: “Hoover” (now Zibby) Born 2/2/09 at 9:07pm – 10.5 oz female. Hoover was named after a famous seal, who could mimic human vocalizations. She reminded me of a seal when she crawled around and was definitely the most talkative of the bunch! She was the larger black and gray merle with the smaller spots. Hoover was the loudest of the bunch and also one of the smartest at the time. She was the first to figure out how to drink water without submerging her nose :-) She was adopted by a great couple who live in a townhouse in DC and take great care of her. She is an exact replica of Cheetah from markings to personality, and she seemed to remember me when I saw her at the dog park months after her adoption – a testament to her smarts.

PUPPY 3: “Junior” (now Schroeder) Born 2/2/09 at 9:19pm – 7 oz male. Junior had the exact same markings as Cheetah, down to the white blaze on her chest. He is very pretty. He was the smaller black and gray merle with the larger spots. Despite being second smallest, Junior really caught up to the rest of the group. He was the calmest of the merles and was pretty low key. He was Mr PM’s favorite puppy. He was adopted by a wonderful family with older kids, and a mom who is a dog whisperer in her own right. He has an elderly sister now and keeps her young, and gets a long great with his kitty sibs as well. All of the pups are high energy dogs, but he still strikes me as having a mellow streak the others don’t have.

PUPPY 4: “Mouse” (now still Mouse) Born 2/2/09 at 10:06pm – 5.5 oz we originally thought female, then hermaphrodite, now we know MALE! Mouse is our surviving runt and we spent lots of time being paranoid for him. But he got in there to nurse with the best of them and always had a lot of heart! He looked and sounded like a mouse, and was is all black with a little bit of white on his chest and paw. Mouse later developed a white muzzle and multicolored paws. He was adopted by a lovely family who didn’t give a fig about his gender confusion :-) He is the family clown and they adore him. He definitely caught up with the rest of the puppies on size!

PUPPY 5: “Blondie” (now Poppy) Born 2/2/09 at 10:25pm – 10.5 oz female. Blondie was the lightest of the all blonde puppies. She had some undefined white on her head and had the pinkest nose. Like all of the blondes, she slept well and was laid back. Blondie was affectionate and you could put her to sleep almost instantly with a belly rub. Pawpads were pink rimmed in black. Poppy was adopted by a single woman who is also a vet at a prestigious local animal hospital. She gets to go to work with her owner every day, has made multiple news appearances and is often the subject of her owners blog!

PUPPY 6: Angel Puppy (never got a name): Born 2/2/09 at 10:37pm – 5.5 oz female, brown and black merle. She really struggled and it took me a while to get her breathing when she was born. For the next few hours she labored. At about 4am, we took Cheetah to the emergency vet to make sure there were no remaining puppies. While there, this little one passed on. We believe her lungs were underdeveloped.

PUPPY 7: “Cuddlebug” (now Belle) Born 2/2/09 at 10:59pm – 12.5 oz female. Cuddlebug was one of the 3 blonde puppies. She had a defined white star on her head. She was one of the first to separate herself from the group to sleep and would whimper. When I picked her up she snuggled right in, quieted down and was completely content to sleep in my arms. She was the smallest of the blondes, slept the most and is still very cuddly - pawpads were black. Belle was adopted by a family with two small children. They could not handle her and returned her. However we almost immediately found a fantastic couple who now dote on her the way she deserves. She sounds happy as a clam!

PUPPY 8: “Mugsy” (now Charlie) Born 2/2/09 at 11:51pm – 12 oz male. Mugsy is the third blond puppy. He was named for the black 6 o’clock shadow he had on his muzzle. He also had a defined white star on his head and he had really cute teeny pink and black pawpads. His 6 o'clock shadow went away, but his paw pads were pink and black alternating. He was adopted by a family with a lot of land, and loves to explore every inch of it.

PUPPY 9: “Velvet” (now Maddie) Born 2/3/09 at 1:30am – 13.5 oz female. Velvet was completely black. She was born the largest and works hard to retain that title! Truly she was last but not least! Velvet developed neat, merle colored socks, but I think they have since gone away and she has similar markings to Mouse. She was super friendly and always came over to say hi to the people first. She is now a little more picky about who she likes and she is a whopping 80 pounds!!!!! She was adopted by a teacher who lives in a group house and they all adore her. She gets to spend summers playing with her owner, loves the beach and is a sweet dog.

* * *

For the next 4 or 5 weeks you all watched the puppies in my bedroom closet. I could see them from my bed and they were pretty low maintenance. Once Cheetah got the hang of nursing, she really did all of the work and was a good mommy. She did develop some soreness, and I would occasionally get in there with her to encourage her to nurse. She would sit on my lap and I would pet her while the pups nursed. In the mean time, I had the embryo transplant and was expecting! Mr PM and I were absolutely thrilled. I was tired, but overall I felt surprisingly good (first indicator of a problem).

I think the puppies were about 4 weeks old when we transferred them to the pen in the spare bedroom due to size and their ability to scale the board keeping them in the closet. We weaned them on a combination of puppy kibble mixed with puppy milk formula, and as the weather got warmer we started taking them outside to explore the yard. Cleaning that pen was no fun! Nor was getting up at the crack of dawn with them. But they were so sweet and so happy to see me whenever I came in, I barely noticed it.

When the puppies were about 4 weeks old, we went for our 6 week pregnancy ultrasound and there was no heartbeat. As it turns out, we had what was called a blighted ovum. There was a pregnancy sac, a placenta, a yolk sac, but no baby. It took them a couple of weeks to convince me that there was really no baby in there. But my body apparently liked being pregnant and I had plenty of time to learn to accept it. I was so happy at that point to have the puppies to nurture and throw myself into their care. It was devastating news after thinking we had been successful after three years of trying to conceive and it helped a lot to have those little beings to love.

At around 7 weeks old, they were fully weaned and Cheetah went home to her owner. It took about a week to start getting reports that Cheetah was not doing so hot in her home. By this point she had spent more time with me than the owner. She was also still dealing with postpartum hormones, and was left alone in the apartment for 11 hours a day while her owner worked. She decided to do some redecorating by ripping up the carpet and eating some expensive textbooks and became very people aggressive and barked a lot. Her owner sadly decided she could not keep her without getting evicted, so I agreed that after the puppies were placed, I would take her back and find her a new home.

In the mean time I started doing interviews for the puppies. That was incredibly difficult for me because I felt a huge responsibility to make their lives as great as I could. I had a few applicants that were very bad choices, although I could not have told you why at the time. I learned to follow my instincts and I think that in the end, everything worked out for the best!

When the puppies were 8 weeks old, they started going home. This was about the time that I also had to have a D&C to terminate the pregnancy that wouldn’t go away on its own. For those of you who watched the puppy cam – you saw exactly how emotional I was. It was a lot of loss all at once. Mocha went a little before she was 8 weeks, and everyone was home by 9 weeks. A day or two after the last two puppies left, Cheetah came back to me fresh from having her spay surgery. She had a lot of trouble with her incision and I was giving her multiple pills a day and putting warm compressed on her incision to nurse her through. I think this is when the bond between us really solidified. I was in terrible grief and she was in trouble (again) and needed me. She could read me like I can’t begin to explain and responded just the way I needed.

Cheetah stayed with me until we were ready to try again. She was adopted again during that time, but it didn’t work out. As most of you know, she took a great amount of energy for me to train and rehabilitate. She had a score of issues, but by the time she left, we had addressed most of them. I was so proud of her. I often had to shut her out of the room when Mr PM gave me the shots to prepare for another ivf pregnancy, because she did not take very kindly to something she could tell hurt me. But I started holding onto her when I took them (they were intramuscular and very painful) and she would sit still and look at me while I hung onto her fur for comfort. Then on August 26, we finally had the procedure to transfer one of the frozen embryos we had conceived on the day she whelped her own puppies. I immediately became exhausted.

In the mean time Belle was coming back. I knew that Belle and Cheetah together would be too much for me. And Belle needed me just a little more in the immediate. So I made arrangements for Cheetah to go into foster care elsewhere. There were a couple of days of overlap when I had them both, and Cheetah was very jealous of Belle. It was the right decision not to have them here together. While I had Belle, Cheetah was desired for a foster to adopt situation. I *knew* that it was not going to work out, much as I liked the people. But I figured it was a good temporary option. By the time the people realized it wouldn’t work and Belle had been placed again, I was so sick with being pregnant that I couldn’t take her back. So Cheetah ended up in a no-cage boarding facility that works with the rescue. She also spent some time at the rescue founder’s house.

All reports were that she was doing very well. I saw her occasionally at adoption days, but it was hard for both of us – when I would leave we’d both cry (and I would throw up). Finally I was told she was placed. I had horrible guilt for my lack of involvement, but I was *still* completely incapacitated with being sick (this lasted through 18 weeks – very healthy pregnancy this time). I did communicate via email a little bit with the new owners, but I was getting reports that a lot of her old behaviors were resurfacing and I was very concerned. I gave as much advice as I could and promised to visit as soon as I could manage it.

This past Sunday I finally made it over there. I have to tell you – these people are FANTASTIC. I could not have picked better owners for my Cheetah. They are so patient and committed to her that I know she will be OK and work through her issues once more. When I saw Cheetah again she was so excited she whined and peed all over the place. She was clearly beside herself. We played and went through our tricks and I petted her and petted her. Eventually she laid down on my feet so I couldn’t move without her knowing. I spent two hours with her and had a great talk with her owners. She clearly loves them and they her. Finally I said “well I should probably get going” and I swear she understood me. She undoubtedly felt something in my demeanor shift, because she immediately started jumping on me and whining again. She always read me so well. But this time, I felt no guilt – she is in a perfect home and I know I will see her again.

I love Cheetah with all my heart and miss her every day. I will never forget what she gave me during one of the most difficult times in my life. She gave me purpose and a love like only a dog with a soul like hers could give. She understood me and comforted me in a way that even Swiffer could not. I helped her through the worst time in her life and she did the same for me.

Thank you Cheetah. I love you always. Happy birthday.

Minor Cheetah update

I don't have much information but after visiting multiple homes on Foster-To-Adopt and being returned every time, it appears that Cheetah is about to have an adoption finalized. She has not been with me in a couple of months and in the last few weeks I have been letting the Rescue handle it. So I don't know much except it is a couple nearby and they have grown "very attached" to her and it sounds like a two-way street. I will wait to contact them until a final decision is made. This is a huge relief to me as I wake up worrying about her every day.

Vicki & Vivian - conclusion

Well, they gave them under 48 hours to entirely turn around with the new regimen before they gave up. They are surrendering them back this weekend. I am pissed.

Case study - Vicki and Vivian

So my reputation is slowly spreading and I am getting more experience with behavioral issues outside of my own fosters. I thought I would share a recent problem posed to me and see what you guys think. Vicki and Vivian are twin mystery mixes (we called them shepherd mixes but they are really too small) that we adopted out a month or two ago. Vicki is *extremely* people shy and Vivian is a bit better. I received an email over the weekend telling me that they haven't socialized to the family, Vicki seems to have adversely affected Vivian instead of the other way around, and they are not very well house trained yet. When they go outside, the hide under the deck and have also been getting out of the yard. Based on the way a few things were phrased, I keyed in on their routine and asked for a full report on that, as well as what they are eating, favorite treats and activities (which help to know in training). Keep in mind that I don't really know these dogs on a personal level. I'd be interested to know what you think of my advice.

Here are some excepts form the original email as well as responses to my questions:

The dogs have extended their pack to include [daughter] to the extent that she can bring them inside at the end of the day, and they sometimes come up to her during the day. Otherwise, they avoid the rest of the family.

Once we let Vivian and Vicki outside in the morning, most of our family is not able to engage with them until [daughter] brings them in at the end of the day. If we go out to the back yard, they bolt to hide under the deck. When [daughter] brings them in at the end of the day, they will head for their cage (where they sleep for the night). If they come out (when only [daughter] is in the area) they will bolt back to the cage when anyone else arrives (or at any noise). The boys and [husband] have been very gentle with the dogs, but this has not had any apparent result. [husband] and the boys attempt to engage with the dogs (for example, slowly moving to pat them while the dogs are in the cage or when [daughter] is holding them), but Vivian and especially Vicki are in full submissive mode if they can’t get away, and will bolt at the first chance.

We have attempted to take them on a leash for a walk, even just in the yard and just to do their business, but this seemed to be totally unproductive – they attempt to bolt, and when they find they can’t, they cringe and crouch and don’t move unless pulled.

What is especially disheartening is that the connections we thought we were making with Vivian during the first week have eroded. It seems that Vicki is influencing Vivian to be less trusting of us, rather than Vivian helping Vicki to be more trustful. For example, if Vivian does start to move to one of us, Vicki starts barking (at Vivian? at us? we can’t tell) and Vivian backs away.

Equally disheartening is that we have all agreed from the start to be patient, but we are not seeing any positive results – even tiny ones. We have followed the vet’s advice, such as having [husband] and the boys prepare the dog’s food, but to no avail.

We have some thoughts:

- The dogs may have a strong negative association with male humans.

- The dogs have a strong bond with each other and don’t need to form other bonds.

- The behaviors may have been established over a longer time than we first thought – our vet believes they are about 18 months old.

1) what do they eat?

Blue Buffalo dog food, adult dog variety. Morning and evening feedings per vet's advice.
2) favorite treats?

We have a variety of dog treats. We don't have a way to determine favorite treats. When they are in the crate we can give them a treat and they will eat it. Outside the crate, Vivian will come out to the edge of the deck to get a treat; Vicki will not.
3) favorite activities that you have observed?

When they are outside and we are inside, we have observed them running around the yard together. They clearly like barking.
4) can you give me a blow by blow description of their current daily routine including who is the human usually interacting and their usual reaction to each event in their day?

- Let dogs out of crate and outside in the morning ([husband] or [daughter]).

- Put food outside for dogs ([husband] or [daughter]). We tried to put the food inside first thing before they went out, but this made us nervous: (a) they wouldn't eat while they could see us and (b) they are not safely housebroken to the point that we trust them unobserved in the house.

- At some point in the day, [daughter] would go outside to attempt to interact with the dogs (sit, talk to them, try to cax them to come to her). However, Vicki has begun to associate [daughter] with being brought inside at the end of the day, and is not coming to her during the day.

- Boys or [husband] had been going outside to attempt to interact with the dogs, but this results in the dogs running under the deck. As indicated below, Vivian is less likely to come out than she had been, possibly based on Vicki's reaction.

- The boys put out the evening food, and go inside so the dogs will eat.

- In the evening, [daughter] will spend some time attempting to get Vicki inside; Vivian usually will follow. Sometimes Vivian will come in, but Vicki will usually not follow.

- The dogs will be in the sun room but will bolt for the crate or under the table if someone comes into the room.

- At bedtime, we close the crate.

Variations:

- We have tried taking the dogs out on a leash to do their business. Usually successful with Vivian; no point with Vicki (she will not do anything other then attempt to bolt or cower).

- Despite fixing our fence and inspecting for any gaps, the dogs have been getting out of the yard and into neighbor's yards. We are not sure how (for example, we don't know if they are fence jumpers or climbers, or if they found a very small gap that we can't detect). The good news is that they are staying in the area, and have even gotten back into our yard. The bad news is that they will not come to any of us when outside our yard.

Here is what I see. The dogs are alone all day because they are outside. The dogs do not place any value on interaction with the family because they get no positive reinforcement from it. The interaction they do have is forced upon them, and they have no safe opportunity to get used to being around the people. They have no structure and do not know what to expect from the people. So here is what I recommended as a first step. I think they will see results of some kind within a week from this approach.

Based on what you have told me, I think that the dogs would be better off on a more restricted regimen for a while. Right now they are outside and can do whatever they want. They have no motivation to allow you to get close to them and as far as they know - food magically appears in their bowls outside. I know you said they will generally not go on the leash, but if that is their only option, I think they will. They need to spend more time around people. I would full on crate train them. It will be a massive pain in the butt for a while, but I am pretty positive it will work. And you guys are so dedicated, I know if you just have a little success it will help immensely. So it would go like this:

• crate should be located where the most activity is in the house (at least to the extent that it is feasible)
  
• overnight in crate
• leashed walk in the morning* (*if one of them doesn't go, try again in an hour until they do)
• Bring some cut up hot dog or american cheese with you on the walk. Whenever one of them eliminates, say "good girl" in a high pitched upbeat tone, and throw ONE treat in front of the one who eliminates. If they will accept it from your hand, fine, but don't force it or it is not a reward. When you toss it, give them time to discover it. If they refuse it, just ignore it and go back inside. Repeat this process for every walk. Note: if they come to enjoy being on the leash outside, be sure to wait a little after they eliminate to go back in; otherwise they will associate going potty with going back inside and that could cause problems. However, if they hate being out there, take them inside right after they go as an added reward.
  
• after walk, breakfast in the house in a quiet place, but not entirely away from everyone. MAKE SURE THEY SEE YOU PUTTING THE FOOD DOWN FOR THEM. If they won't eat after 20 minutes, put them back in the crate (make sure there is water in the crate). No food until the next mealtime (exception if they go potty). **If you have an instance where they eliminate in the crate instead of when you take them outside, start feeding them in the crate and they will be less likely to do that. Maintain the 20 minute rule though.
  
• walk again 20 mins after breakfast
• back in crate
• it will depend on whether they are going to the bathroom outside as to how often you let them out. Initially you will probably have to let them out every hour or two. Once they actually go, every 3 or 4 hours should be OK. Start out with less time and increase it to see what they can handle.
  
• Once they go potty outside, let them have 20 minutes out of the crate IN THE HOUSE. If you can gate off a room that would be great. Keep them in your vicinity. Ignore them (or rather appear to ignore them) - do not try to interact at all. Let them make any overt gestures - this will take them a while.
• They must be watched at all times while they are out of the crate - if someone has an accident *and you catch them at it* startle them into stopping with a firm NO (or word of your choice - just be consistent) and get them outside (on leash) immediately. If you do not catch them in the process of doing it, just put them back in the crate and clean it up with an enzyme cleaner. If you try to tell them what they did wrong, they will have no clue even if it is 2 seconds after they finish.
  
• back in crate; repeat the letting out/activity in the house as necessary
• around dinner time; let them out of crate and walk as usual.
• upon return, repeat the process for breakfast. If they won't eat after 20 minutes, put them back in the crate. No food until the next mealtime.
• Evening walk before bedtime; 20 mins free time; crate for night.
• No one should ever, under any circumstances, reach into the crate for any reason. If they retreat to the crate during "free time" that's fine. Just shut the door after 20 minutes. Be sure not to slam it or smile at them (that is baring your teeth and scary for them).
• You may find that you have more success with walking one dog at a time. But play with it and see what works best.
  

If you would like, I can stop over on Sunday and show you some body language stuff for the dogs. Please let me know if that works for you and what times are good. Things that seem friendly for people (like smiling) are aggressive acts to a dog or at the least can be scary. If you have any questions about any of this, I can be reached tonight at ...

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Sadie, Cheetah, Belle and Swiffer update 8.30.09

I saw Sadie today and she is like a different dog. She is so much more confident, she has some meat on her bones and she wants to play with the other dogs. She has that doggy sparkle back in her eye. What a difference from the tail tucked entirely under her, wouldn't stand up, emaciated little thing I first met.

I have to tell you, Cheetah was pretty cute with her. There were a good 15 dogs or so in the enclosure today and if someone got too rough with Sadie, Cheetah took it upon herself to herd them right away from her. Cheetah was the enforcer generally. If someone was barking too much - she would get right in their face and bark once sharply and back away. It was as if someone whistled through their fingers (I always wished I could do that) bc that dog would be shocked right into silence. It was fun to watch.

Cheetah was unamused that I was with Belle today. She did not like that one bit. I am HER person and that is that. She has been staying the last few days with Kristina, head of the rescue, to give this household a break. She has always like Kristina and literally (I kid you not) rolled down the car window and jumped out when she saw Kristina when I was dropping her off. Luckily I was going about 1 mph and she was leashed by her harness as opposed to her collar. I was able to release her from the seatbelt quickly and Kristina grabbed the leash with Cheetah none the worse for wear. I usually keep the child locks on the windows bc while she has never jumped out, she has done the roll down the window trick before (damn smart dog), but I had rolled down the front window to talk to Kristina so the child lock was off.

Anyway, she was herding dogs away from Kristina too when she was in the pen. She is crapped out on the floor right now - busy day of protecting everyone for her!

Kristina said she did awesome at her house and wasn't even territorial! Woo hoo! I declare her cured. I think she really would do best in a household with another dog. So Cheetah will be with me for this week, and then Sat night she is going to another senior foster's house so I can take Belle, who needs me more right now.

Back to Sadie, she has had all of her bloodwork and this week has the actual heartworm treatment. This treatment is painful so please keep her in your thoughts. She will also be on pain meds for her hip - I spoke to Kristina about it today. And we are investigating specialists to work on her leg. Our goal is not to amputate, but follow Ashley's suggestion of the procedure with the big long name that will stop bone from rubbing on bone. She is already functioning with the leg. The musculature has healed around it and she has figured out how to work with it. So we just want to deal with the pain it must be causing her. My guess is that it would be cheaper to amputate, but no one really wants to do that.

So Belle. She is a tiny little thing! She's only 35 pounds and looks so little to me next to Cheetah. She is smaller than the other puppies I have seen as well. She is cute as a button and I know there will be a ton of interest in her. As a matter of fact, we already had one application! (3 kids though). I spent about 20-30 minutes with her just getting her used to me, and before we were done, she turned her back to me (I was flattered by this!) and she jumped into my lap and licked my face. So we are buds. I brought chopped up hot dog with me to offer as a high value treat, but she was slow to accept it. She did finally eat out of my hand and we started some basic targeting training. She is not super food motivated, which will make training a little more difficult. But certainly not impossible.

She is very fearful, but not as bad as Cheetah was, nor as reactive. Add to that that she is younger, and I am very confident that I can get her where she needs to be. Here is my plan:

1. Get her spayed ASAP. Her owner was advised by her vet to hold off bc she was so skittish. I don't agree with that evualtion, but regardless, I am of the opinion that now, hormones are exacerbating the situation. Plus, it needs to be done.
   
2. Once she is spayed I can take her to an off leash park - I found this helped Cheetah immensely. Fearful dogs are often more fearful on leash, bc they can't run away if they are scared. This can mean they feel they have to defend themselves, which is never good.
3. Change her food! She is currently on Puppy Chow, a corn based dog food. We have discussed before how corn can block seratonin uptake in a dog, increasing anxiety, fear and aggression. The Rescue has changed over to Blue Buffalo - to which I say BRA.VO. Cheetah has been getting Solid Gold, but I will probably switch Belle to Blue Buffalo for consistency. We'll see how I feel when I go shopping :-)
4. I will start a basic obedience regimen with her. This will cause bonding with me and increase confidence. It will also help me to control situations better and distract her more effectively when we are facing her fears.

Swiffer is still limping :-( We are still on pain meds and I have scheduled an appointment with a different vet in the practice for Saturday. My biggest fear is that she has an injury which is healing improperly. We will likely need to do some x-rays next. She and Lexy had a very nice break while Cheetah was visiting. Lexy followed me from room to room like a dog and Swiffer did too, come to think of it :-)

Sadie Update 8.28.09

I just checked in with her foster and she is currently in treatment for heart worm. She has not had surgery on her leg yet - we are addressing the heart worm first. But she has more energy and is initiating play with other dogs!

Rescue Angels Adopter Reunion BBQ

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Yesterday was the Adopter Reunion and it went well! Cheetah was pretty good about all of the chaos. She got a little nippy when people she didn't know kept coming in and messing around in the kitchen - particularly the fridge. But she only outright nipped I think once. I caught her at it and she did not do it again.

Sadie was there and she hid under the big bush for most of the party, but after most of the people left she came out and explored all around the yard. Foster said she never does that, so I feel like it was a good experience for her. She looked really good. She wasn't shaking at all and she was really curious.

Schroeder and his sister Marci came with thier family. He was joyous as usual :-) Right at the end Poppy's owner came as well. She came sans Poppy because I guess Poppy was feeling a little off. But we had a nice visit and Poppy may come for a play date sometime soon! I am getting reports from her and some of the other puppy owners that they are going through a shy phase. I am hoping it is adolescence and will pass. Cheetah was shy when she first came to us but she got over it. I am pretty convinced if Cheetah can get past it, the puppies will too. This is a tough phase in many dogs' lives.

As many of you know, Poppy's owner is a vet and she had some alternative ideas to amputating Sadie's leg. We had Sadie's xrays at the event and so she was able to look at them and make some suggestions. We can minimize her pain without losing her leg. That would be great. In the mean time, she showed us exactly what she thinks would be causing Sadie to be in pain (there is bone rubbing up against bone) and we realized that the vet Sadie went to last weekend did not prescribe pain meds. This is an issue that makes me absolutely insane. I am a big believer in pain relief to animals. Just becuase they can not say "it hurts" does not mean it doesn't. So we will be revisiting that vet to get a Rx.

Overall the party was a success. I think we had around 30-40 dogs. It hit 100 degrees though!! We had three doggy pools and a sprinkler going for the dogs, as well as lots of water bowls and a couple of tents for shade. Kristina made doggy cupcakes, which were a big hit with the dogs I saw eating them :-) Cheetah was not interested in dinner last night and completely turned her nose up at breakfast, but I think it could be because she had at least 2 hamburgers, a piece of hotdog, and many cupcakes yesterday. She was completely pooped. Between the heat, the excitement, the anxiety of strangers messing with the den, and all of the crazy food, she is a bit sedate this morning as well. I won't worry about it unless she isn't drinking or is still not eating tomorrow.

Swiffer made an appearance for a little while, but was pretty intimidated with all of those other dogs, and I didn't make her stay out that long in the heat. Her foot is still bothering her a little too, although it seems better.

I, myself, never felt such an extreme need for a shower in my entire life after running around in that heat! Too bad you can't really have air conditioning outside. I wish we had a pool. We have enough room for it but 40k for installation plus 3k a month during the season is a bit much to contemplate right now :-/

Sadie 8.15.09

I have some new news on Sadie. We waited for her to get a little more comfortable before taking her to the vet. As it turns out she doesn't have arthritis. Foster brought her to the adoption event and had a visit with the vet today. On his first inspection the vet felt her leg and says its a mangled mess of bone there and he didn't know if it was an old fracture that healed wrong or if it was osteosarcoma. Well upon x-ray it was clear it was neither. This tough little girl was shot and still has bullet remains in her. The leg obviously was never addressed and healed completely wrong. It looks mangled on the x-ray. There is also bird shot/bullet all around the leg and in her body but the little pieces in her body don''t seem to be bothering her nor are they causing any damage. On top of that her back leg is dislocated. It has been dislocated for so long that the joint has healed over and cannot be reset - the vet recommends amputation. Foster reports that she's still happy and chipper.

I will see her tomorrow at the adopter reunion. Poor little girl. As you may recall, she is also heartworm positive and is blind in one eye from cataracts. The vet estimates her at only 5 years old. Whoever did this to her should be shot and tortured themselves. I hope karma does it's job.

We are going to do a massive fund raising push for her. If you would like to donate even $5, every little bit will help. Please forward to whoever you know who may be interested in donation or adoption of this special case. Rescue Angels will start by treating the heart worm and go from there once she gets stronger. She has a long road ahead of her, but she has already survived so much and she is now surrounded by people who love her. She is such a sweet natured little thing. She will be an amazing dog for someone and the hard cases always seem to know when they are rescued.

Cheetah - pass it on

Should you know anyone who might be interested, please click on the little envelope below and pass it on...

Cheetah is a wonderfully sweet and loyal 1.5 year old Aussie mix. She is still young and playful like a puppy, but has the disposition of an adult. She is full grown at about 45 lbs. She knows multiple commands, is entirely housebroken, spayed and current on all shots and preventatives. She likes to romp with most other dogs, and would do well living with a playmate or on her own. She is protective of her home and her people. She is energetic and would do best with an active, experienced dog owner. She would be a perfect companion for a runner or biker with a large, fenced back yard. She is very smart and would likely make a wonderful agility dog as well. Ideally one of the owners would work from home or have a modified work schedule as she loves to be with her person! But she is used to a full time work schedule with her fosters. Favorite activities: following her foster mom around; the dog park!!; watching birds and squirrels from her window seat; chasing them outside; playing with her treat ball; playing fetch, tug and chase games; extracting squeakers out of her toys. No kiddies or kitties please.

Contact: melanie@rescueangels.org
Application: http://www.rescueangels.org/Pages/AdoptionApplication.html

Cheetah Pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/melrescueangels/CheetahPostPuppies?feat=directlink

Cheetah Videos (after puppy videos):
http://picasaweb.google.com/melrescueangels/CheetahAndPuppyVids?feat=directlink

Sadie 8.4.09

Wanted to let you know that Sadie did finally relieve herself under Foster's dining room table. He said he never thought a dog pooping and peeing in the house would make him so happy! LOL She has since even gone outside! She started moving around slowly and cautiously, making her first big foray onto the couch - haha. No problem hopping up there. She has been slowly emerging from her shell and even took a little unexpected tour of the neighborhood, which about gave Foster a heart attack. She still has a very extreme fear response, and even peed when Foster approached her to retrieve her from her little adventure. She clearly exhibits a higher comfort level with women than men, but Foster is very gentle with her and he is fantastic at drawing her out and gaining her trust even though he is male. He is doing a great job with her. He says she seems much less sad and depressed than when he initially got her.

Sadie update

Sadie is not standing or walking, and has not relieved herself in any way since Foster took her. The lack of urinating is what had me freaked. The vet was unable to determine what was wrong with her without further diagnostics, which we declined for the time being ($$). She is still eating and drinking, which is a very positive sign, so Foster will watch her for the next day or two to see if her situation improves. They prescribed Rimadyl, a pain reliever, and are hoping that will allow her to get up and move around a little more. If she does not improve in the next couple of days, diagnostic testing such as xray and bloodwork are indicated. She is an older dog (arthritis?), recently had spay surgery, and has had a ton of transition, so we are hoping that is all it is. Her temp and other stats were mostly normal. She is heartworm positive, is blind in her right eye (we think cataract) and has a boney mass on her left foreleg. She is clearly terrified, so that is amplifying whatever problems she is having. She is a sweet, sweet girl.

When I approached her at Foster's house, no one else was in the room, so I walked up to her slowly on the side I knew she could see me. I averted my eyes and walked up to her kind of sideways so I wouldn't intimidate her. I crouched down next her her with the side of my body facing her and put my hand near her (I didn't reach for her) palm up so she could sniff. She did and gave me big kisses hello. She is SO sweet - she would be dangerous for me to foster. This is a new foster to Rescue Angels and he is fantastic. He's really committed and obviously very compassionate. She clearly trusts him. I really hope she improves.

Emergent Foster Case

I don't know if I have ever mentioned that I am the Foster Coordinator for my rescue. I had sort of stepped back from it while I was dealing with Cheetah and the puppies, but I am dipping my toes back in.



Earlier today I got an email from one of our brand new fosters telling me that he was a little worried about Sadie. After going back and forth a bit I have learned that she can't stand up because her back legs are too shaky, and while she has been eating and drinking, she has not eliminated one time since he got her last night. She is also utterly terrified, and flinches like she has been abused. Although now I find out she is also blind in one eye, which can make a dog flinchy.



Foster doesn't have a car so I am picking him up at 5 to go to the vet. I am worried that she is in kidney failure. He also sent me some detailed pictures and I can see she has had puppies and it looks like she was spayed within the last month or so. This could be a complication from surgery. I will have a better sense of it once I see her in person. I'll keep you posted.