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.

Schroeder 11.22.09

Schroeder update 11.5.09

Schroeder has grown to a nice size, still long and lean. Not sure if he is finished growing. He has good days and annoying days. He likes to eat deer, rabbit, and goose poop any chance he gets. He also has discovered that rolling on anything that smells is great fun. Like a typical teenager some days he listens to commands( like come )and other days I call him he will stop and look at me think about it a second , and then decide. He loves going to the dog park to see his friends. Schroeder likes to wrestle when he plays, I think he is finally learning that not all dogs want to play rough. He still is not sure about children, he is a little afraid of them but is getting better. I started using the the gentle walker on him because he was pulling alot, and he is very strong. When the harness is on he will not pull. He still will grab the leash and want to play tug of war, he also picks up every stick, plastic bottle, trash along the way. Schroeder has also discovered squirrels. Schroeder seems to find joy in everything and thinks life is a big game, he seems to have a sense of humor.

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 :-/

Schroeder update 8.10.09

Mr. Schroeder will be [at the Rescue Angels party Sunday], he will be happy to see his mom. I want to thank you again for helping him into the world, he is a joy (most the time). [haha] I think he is bigger then the last time you saw him. He has been a little extra chewy lately.

... I am up at 6 and taking care of the four legged family and the birds and a short walk with Marcy and Schroeder. Marcy doesn't walk that far but she is building up so when the temp gets cooler I think she will go farther. Then Schroeder and I either go to the dog park for a hour hour and half, or walk for about that long. If he has a lot of energy we go for a shorter mid-day walk. He has a pool and sandbox (spoiled). [yay! in a good way.] It keeps him from digging in my garden now if only he would stop eating my harvest . LOL

Maddie visited Cheetah 8.9.09

Maddie and Cheetah had a fun visit on Sunday. This was the first time I have seen Maddie since her adoption and she is bigger than Cheetah! Not by much, but she's bigger and still growing. I expect that her frame won't get too much bigger, but now she will start to bulk up more. Her paws are big! But I would put them at about the same size as Schroeder if I remember correctly. I bet they end up about the same size and Schroeder (7.5 oz) was the only one bigger than Mouse (5.5 oz) at birth! For the record Maddie was biggest at 13.5 oz. (Do not ask me why I know that off the top of my head.) Maddie was also the only one born after midnight, so she has her own birthday too :-)

Anyway! She seems to have gotten over her chicken incident just fine. She was wary of me at first and barked, which mortified her owner, but it was fine. She doesn't remember me and she was in a strange place. God knows I am used to dealing with Cheetah when she does that to other people. I just turned to the side, averted my eyes, crouched down and let my hand be where she could sniff it. She calmed down pretty quickly.

We went straight out to the back yard and she sniffed around a bit while I went in and got Cheetah. Cheetah was SOOOOOOO excited she practically dragged me out the door and down the deck steps. (I always have Cheetah on a lead when introducing her to new dogs and people in case she takes offense to them. We have had big issues with her being territorial in the past.)

No worries though - Cheetah was crazy excited to see Maddie and she had zero problems with Maddie's owner or her friend that she brought along. So far, Cheetah is fine with her puppies' owners. She is also improving with other strangers in the house. She was very good when Kate visited and was good with my mother-in-law. I am careful about introductions - she always starts out in another room or meets the person outside and I can control her and her environment better as the inside introduction happens. She is not absolutely perfect but she is definitely getting better. She also did very well with her last owner when introduced in the house, but she had also seen them a few times in other places. I will be interested to see how she does when I have some people over on Wed night from the Rescue, and then on Sunday when we have the Rescue Angels anniversary celebration at my house when there will be approx 50 adopters and dogs coming and going from the back yard. If she can't take it I will confine her to my bedroom.

Anyway, I got off track. The pictures I took aren't fabulous (they are in with Cheetah post puppies), but I also got some video, which is posted in the usual place. Maddie looks absolutely beautiful - she is sleek and shiney and clearly happy. Her owner also is very good about guiding her and setting limits for her. I think she will probably get a little bigger than her owner hoped, but she is totally in love with her and it won't matter beyond some practical considerations.

Schroeder the Goof

I just realized I forgot to post this update from 7.27.09

***

The first picture is of Schroeder on his back. I stood over him and took the picture.

The other pictures are of him and his food dish. He starts throwing his dish around when he thinks he should be fed. He has also been eating all my raspberries, grapes(which are not that good for him so I cut a lot of them down) and any other fruit he can get to. He loves apples, watermelon, blueberries, etc...

Rough Night

Cheetah is not very happy with me right now. Why you ask? Because I took to my bed at 8:30pm. The rerun of The Office just wasn't doin it for me and it's been a long evening.

CAUTION: some gross content

On my way home (I left the office at around 4:15) I finally stopped at CVS to pick up a couple of Rx. I got in line at the pharmacy and there was a guy there with a shopping cart full of stuff - I shit you not. Once I determined he actually planned to check all of this crap out at the PHARMACY, I huffed off to the magazine isle. We are supposed to look for images that evoke something in us for group, so I figured I would pick up a few. $70 worth of magazines later (yeah I know) I was back in line and finally got my prescriptions.

I didn't actually make it home until almost 6pm. Sigh. The second I walked in the door I knew something was rotten in Denmark. I had no idea what it was, but something was WRONG in here. It did not take me long to figure it out. As soon as I hit the hallway that leads to the bedrooms I got slammed in the face with the stench. Cheetah had a biiiiiiig accident in the master bathroom. Sigh. It was baaaaad. She hasn't done anything like that since she had so many tummy problems after the puppies. I then noticed she had vomited on the carpet in the hall way and on her bed, although there was very little evidence left. I know - ew. But she's a dog - that's what they do. I was thankful that Mr. PM is at a company conference this week. If there is one smell he can not take, it is dog poo. Cheetah thoughtfully managed to stay on the bathmat for the most part, so I just folded up everything she hit and took it down to the basement.

Cheetah is so very helpful. Just today when Zibby's owners mentioned she had done some backsliding on her housetraining, I said, "all dog's backslide once in a while." Cheetah was just trying to prove my point I guess.

I wracked my brain trying to figure out what made her so sick. The dog food is the same; although I am playing with the proportion of wet to dry a bit, that should not upset her like this. She had treats in her treatball today - but nothing new there either. I thought and thought about this as I cleaned up and took the linens down to the wash. While I was down there I fed the cat. AHA! I know exactly what it was now! Or at least I had a pretty strong speculation.

OK this is gross, but last night, somehow Cheetah found that great delicacy, the litterbox. I had JUST cleaned it out a couple of hours earlier, but Lexy must've been in there. I caught Cheetah red handed, so to speak. Her breath was HORRIBLE the rest of the night. (Cheetah is one of the few dogs I know who simply does not have bad breath! She also has really white teeth. I attribute this to her age + all the bone and stick chewing she does.)

So anyway, I was glad to have figured that out, but I still decided to give her boiled chicken and rice for dinner to be safe. I figured Swiffer shouldn't have to miss out because she didn't poop in the house, so I made enough for both of them. I used to make this stuff by the vat when Cheetah was nursing. I would literally make 5 quarts at a time.

Of course today was the first hot and humid day in a while - we have been really lucky with weather this year. So naturally with Cheetah getting sick on top of that, I was concerned about dehydration. Chicken and rice is another way to really rally against that. I used 3 cups chicken stock to one cup of white rice and diced the chicken directly into the pot while it was still partially frozen. This way the chicken cooks while the rice boils. Once most of the chicken stock was absorbed, I added about another cup of water. I cook it very low to make sure the rice absorbs as much liquid as possible, and is completely saturated. When I am finished, it is a slightly soupy concoction. This helps to replenish her fluids. I also throw some ice in to help it cool down quickly, so more water. For anyone who has not prepared this meal for their dog before, be prepared to find rice all around the bowl for days. They always root out the chicken first and then go back for the rice.

I am fading fast here, but I have one more thing to tell you. One of our puppy sponsors from overseas is in town and I will be meeting her tomorrow! She found the webcam because she works for a client of my husband's company. As I mentioned, Mr. PM is currently at a conference, which she crossed the pond to attend! So tomorrow evening he is bringing her home to meet me and Cheetah before she heads home. Hopefully Cheetah will have a similar reaction to the one she had when Schroeder visited. We can only wait and see. But I am excited to meet her. I want to say her family bred dogs when she was a kid, but I could be mixing up her story with someone else.

Cheetah is sleeping comfortably now. She still wanted to play a little but she is definitely less energetic than usual. As much as I hate to see her sick, I have to admit it is kind of a nice break. Have a good night all.

Schroeder update 7.15.09

From owner: I thought I would let you know that Schroeder has a girlfriend named Millie. She is a 8 month boxer. It is true love. They met on a sunny morning at the dog park (sounds like a romance novel.) When other puppies want to play with them, they hardly take notice. Millie has more energy then Schroeder [Mel says Wow!] and he is tired for most the day after they play. I am sending you a picture of them. It so nice when your dog can find a good friend.

Schroeder update 7.2.09

Schroeder had his last round of shots today. He also got a microchip. Schroeder still has loose poop. The vet tested his poop and said he has bacteria I guess too much. He put him on an antibiotic that is for the intestines and will knock out some of the bacteria. He is also taking something that will help him with the good bacteria it is called Fortiflora. He feels that his immune system is trying to balance its self out. He seems to feel fine - crazy as always. The vet seems to think he has a lot of growing to do, but I am not sure how much bigger he will get. Have a good fourth of July.

The Big Visit!!!! 6.27.09

It was wonderful to see Schroeder on Saturday!!! He looks JUST like Cheetah, only prettier (don't tell Cheetah I said that). His markings are more bright and defined. And he is almost as big as she is!


He was feeling slightly under the weather on Saturday, so he wasn't as bouncy as he can be apparently, but he still managed to give Cheetah a run for her money! She was out cold after he left. It was hard to tell if he recognized her or not, because he is a friendly little guy anyway.

As promised I took little videos and pictures so you can all share in the visit.

When they arrived I put Cheetah in my bedroom to keep her out of the initial excitement. I wasn't sure how she'd react to visitors since she usually threatens to eat whoever tries to come in the house. I met Schroeder and owners in the driveway and it was really hard not to run right up to him and shower him with affection. But I didn't want to overwhelm him so I let him sniff me and I bent down with my side to him and let him approach me. Then we went in the house and he immediately found Cheetah's big goofy yellow flower. He walked around with that for quite a while - he really took a liking to it.

After we got acquainted, we all went out in the back yard and I went and got Cheetah out of the bedroom. I won't lie that I wasn't nervous about her attacking either Schroeder or his owners. So I brought her out on lead - she practically dragged me across the yard! First she ran up to Schroeder with no incident, and then as I held my breath, she ran up to his owners. Now, they are very savvy dog people so I am sure that helped. They did not make eye contact or any move to reach for her. In fact, Mrs. Owner kept her hands behind her back... and Cheetah licked them!!

So I let Cheetah off the lead and started filming. I suspect she recognized Schroeder because since having the puppies, there has not been ONE TIME where someone (including my own mom) has come onto our property without her having something to say about it. I can also hope that maybe she is getting better about this.

So they had a grand time. They spent quite a bit of time under the big bush by our deck, because it was very hot. I also refilled the water bowl twice. Of course Schroeder decided to play in the third bowl :-) That was pretty cute.

Then we went into the house. Once again I held my breath because I wasn't sure if being inside the house would change the dynamic. It did a little, but not enough to cause concern. Cheetah was still very friendly to Mr. and Mrs. Owner. While she initially played with Schroeder with a new toy that the Owners brought for her (that was so thoughtful!), she became possessive of her stuff pretty quickly. Schroeder was a little nonplussed by this, but did finally go find another toy to play with. Actually he found Cheetah's bone, which she eventually commandeered as well. Poor Schroeder.

I really want to thank Mr. & Mrs. Owner for offering to bring Schroeder to see me. It really meant a lot to me and did a lot to get me out of my funk. He is every bit the dog I could have hoped and it is clear he is extremely well loved and cared for. Cheetah would also like to say thank you for the great toys they brought to her. She loves them and brought a couple of them with her while she visited another Rescue Angels foster on Sunday when we had our housewarming party. More on that later.

Schroeder will be having his last set of shots on Thursday so I'll be thinking about him. I hope he doesn't have any more reactions.

A couple of weights

So I heard from a couple of the owners and it seems that both Maddie and Schroeder have hit 40 lbs!! WOW. I'm willing to bet Cheetah put on a couple of pounds herself. She has filled out since she recovered from nursing her giant puppies! She looks really good. I am really curious to see Schroeder on Saturday - he must be about as big as Cheetah! It will be so neat to see him again.

Very Exciting news 6.22.09

I actually have a couple of exciting things to share.

First, my baby brother Jim (11 years my junior) and his long time girlfriend Emily got engaged last week during their trip to Grand Cayman!! I think Em is great and am very excited to have her as a sister-in-law to be. I am looking forward to hearing all of the details as soon as they recover from the travel.

Second, I am getting a visit from Schroeder next week!!!! Saturday to be precise. I am ridiculously excited about this. His owner contacted me and offered the visit and I could not be more thrilled or grateful. I will be sure to take plenty of pictures and a short video or two. I know he won't remember me, but I wonder if the smells will be familiar. I am also curious if Cheetah will recognize him. As we know, she has territorial aggression issues. I have prepared Schroeder's owners for this and they are being very cool about it (his primary owner is very dog savvy). My current plan is to have Cheetah in another room until the initial excitement is over and then bring her in on loose lead. I wish she was a little more food motivated than she is and it would make it much easier. Anyway, I am crazy excited to see Schroeder.

Finally, Cheetah was at the dog park this weekend and there was a group of about 3 kids there. They were running and screeching in their maybe 10-year-old way. A girl and two boys. When I initially saw them I called Cheetah over very cheerfully and tried to keep her distracted. But she trotted over toward them at one point and my blood froze. I was fully prepared to make a heroic leap between Cheetah and a kid. But one of them threw a ball for her and she went running after it! She treated them like any other person!!!!! This was the ultimate proof. A playground at a distance is one thing. A kid in her immediate territory, running and playing, is QUITE another. I am utterly beside myself. Dan was annoyed with her in the car for barking in his ear (it can be very loud and startling) but I was like - are you kidding? SHE WAS GOOD WITH KIDS!!! She is not going to be perfect all at once. One thing at a time.

I have definitely noticed a significant difference since changing her food. She is a much calmer dog.

Here is a blog entry from Nicole Wilde - the dog trainer I heard when I went to that seminar a few weeks ago. She expresses a notion I have long felt to be true and I thought you might enjoy it too. http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/must-dog-every-dog-he-meets And an excellent follow up to that: http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/angels-and-expectations