Pupdate: Lefty's Progress So Far

Wow! Lefty aka Pirate aka Cap'n Jack aka Jack aka Jacky aka Wacky Jacky is doing GREAT. And yes, we are nuts for nicknames around here. Y'all should know that by now. This crazy little bugger...ya can't keep a Boston down! I know that much. Jacky is no exception. Despite having one eye and a broken hip, he is still totally bonkers. I'm sure it's mostly because he's on crate rest, although we do make sure he gets gentle playtime breaks throughout the day. We've also realized he's still a puppy. He's got bright, white, sharp teeth and boatloads of energy. He's completely fearless and doesn't know any speed except full steam ahead. Unfortunately for him, that means his play breaks are cut short before he further hurts himself.

Having said that, I can't deprive the little guy altogether! I'm a sucker and a pushover when it comes to his scruffy little Energizer bunny butt. His favorite thing in life so far is his rope toy. I got him a mini rope that's not long enough to whack himself in the eye if he kill shakes it. He's obsessed. THROW THE ROPE THROW THE ROPE THROW THE ROPE! WHERE'S THE ROPE WHERE'S THE ROPE WHERE'S THE ROPE? I GOT THE ROPE I GOT THE ROPE I GOT THE ROPE! That's pretty much the bulk of Jacky's brain activity. I love it. He just cracks me up. He'd run on that broken leg all day long if I let him. Don't worry, not gonna happen.

The plastic e-collar is pretty much a mechanism of death and destruction. The vet said he can't wear a comfy cone because it would be too easy for him to smash it out of the way and rub his eye against stuff. Consequently, he's stuck in the hard plastic cone of shame. I hate cones. They make everything so much harder on the dog. Too bad, because as PPR's Allie pointed out, wearing a cone is much better than ripping open that eye socket. So don't feel too bad that Jack has to wear the cone. It's keeping him safe. Plus, his eye is looking awesome! It's not swollen or red anymore. Honestly, dogs are made up of Wolverine DNA, I swear. Their healing rate is unbelievable. Paws crossed his FHO recovery is no exception!

Poor Lefty has had quite a time trying to figure out how to fetch despite being confined to an e-collar. At first he just shoveled everything around like a bulldozer. Now he's decided that brute force is the best option. He smashes down on top of his target in an effort to squish the cone to the side so he can just reach whatever he's trying to get (usually the rope). This has resulted in a couple of barrel rolls / near headstands that have about scared the peewally out of me. It's terrifying, heartbreaking, and hilarious all at the same time. Watching him eat is a whole other thing. I had to hand feed him at first. Now he slams his head straight down so the cone completely surrounds the food bowl. He looks like a crash-landed satellite.

Wearing a cone plus only having one eye has really put the ultimate kibosh on Jacky's peripheral vision. He clips corners, crashes into furniture as he walks by, and slams into our legs. The other dogs are terrified of it (he chases them around like a maniac and smashes into them when he tries to get close enough for a good sniff). It slices and bruises our legs when he runs into us (constantly). So, a couple rescue friends suggested I wrap the edges in duct tape. In keeping with his Pirate nickname, I bought skull and crossbones tape and decked out his cone with it. Now Jack's the most stylin' pirate on the block. Probably in the whole city!

I am clean, regal, and SCRUFFY!

Cap'n Jack got a bath today. Boy, did he need it! Not only does he look like a pirate, but he smelled like one too. He was very well behaved in the tub. I could tell he actually enjoyed it. The poor dude just stood there, shut his eyes, and leaned into my hands as I shampooed him. He even let me *very carefully* wipe all the dried blood and dirt away from his face and eyes. He needed that so badly. I took his cone off so I could clean around his neck and ears really well. Gosh he's so much cuter without the cone! I let him keep it off for a few (closely supervised) minutes until he dried. He was SO excited to roll around in the towels and dry off. I'm not sure I've ever seen a dog peacefully enjoy a bath so much. It warmed and broke my heart at the same time. Judging by his behavior and by the color of the tub water, I'd say it had been a very long time since Jacky last had a bath. Bonus: now that he's clean, he's extra mega scrufftacular!

Lefty / Pirate / Cap'n Jack / Jack / Jacky / Wacky Jacky is a really great little dog. We love him to pieces. He is so affectionate, happy go lucky, and goofy. While he's certainly feeling happier and is on the road to recovery, he still has a very long way to go. Please consider donating to help PPR with his medical bills (see link below). Happy New Year, Lefty! I promise it will be SO MUCH BETTER for you than this past year.

http://www.perfectpetsrescue.org/donations-and-how-you-can-help.html

Farewell, Miss Jinny!

A true Georgia girl at heart

Transport Time!

Our sweet Miss Jinny left on transport today. She's heading for New York to find her forever home through Perfect Pets Rescue. Jinny came such a long way during the short two months we had her. She endured a really tough dental, survived the throes of heartworm treatment, kicked both a skin infection and a GI virus, underwent surgery to cut out two ingrown dewclaws, AND tolerated some pretty intense grooming sessions as we cut all the awful mats out of her fur and brushed her back to her full Collie glory. Out of all our fosters so far, Jinny was in the worst shape (even rougher than Oliver). This gal is a trooper! Now she's on a bus to New York where she'll start fresh. Jinny is free to leave all the neglect she suffered behind.

Hey, whatcha doin?

Looking alert and perky

Check out that sassy tail!

We finally started to see Jinny's personality peek through during the last week we had her. She's still definitely a very low-key girl, but there is a little sassiness that's been waiting to come out. With all the issues she had to recover from, it's no wonder she needed a few weeks to open up. For most of the time she spent with us, Jinny didn't even have the energy to pick herself up off the floor and go outside more than twice a day. She obviously did not feel well at all. Over the past week, we saw Jinny transform from a lifeless doorstop to a spunky lass. She got up off the living room rug! She began to carry her tail up in the air and even wag it a bit! She gained interest in food (hers and ours)! She trotted over to us for a head scratchings and belly rubs! We were so happy to see her feeling that much better. Miss J is such a good girl. She's about as easy as dogs can possibly be. Whoever ends up with her is a very lucky person. I hope they realize what a gentle gem she is. Good luck, Jinny!

HUGE thanks to everyone at Perfect Pets Rescue and The Veterinary Clinic in Marietta for helping restore Jinny to full health and happiness. If you'd like to donate to PPR so they can keep helping others like Jinny, please click here: http://www.perfectpetsrescue.org/donations-and-how-you-can-help.html

UPDATE: Jinny's adopted! Woohoo! Congratulations and BEST of luck to you, sweet girl!

Update on Jinny!

Hey everyone! Thought I'd hammer out a quick little update on our girl, Jinny. She's settling in rather well. She hasn't had a single potty accident, not ONE! She sleeps perfectly through the night with her crate door open (sometimes she likes to lay inside it, other times she just sleeps on the floor next to it). She usually spends all day just laying quietly on the living room rug. She seems to like Bunkin and Oliver quite a bit. Bunkin is convinced she's his fluffy Collie girlfriend.

We haven't had a female dog since little Cindy Lou back in December, so I forgot how much they

seem to even out the doggy dynamics in our house. With all of our boys, things tend to stay fairly rowdy. Jinny is completely unfazed. She's like, "Whatever, boys. I do not have time for your crazy games. I'll just sit here next to the air purifier and enjoy this nice breeze while you all bound around like a bunch of fools." Oddly enough, the boys tend to do less bounding around since Jinny's been with us. She never protests or gets snippy with anyone, but she does seem to demand a certain level of order. Everyone just kind of falls into place around her. Even Pickles, who LOVES to play (oftentimes roughly) with other dogs, hasn't jumped on her once. They all respect her space and just go about their own merry ways. Fine by me!

Slowly but surely, Jinny's beginning to show a little more personality. The first few days we had her, she just laid around and hardly wanted to move. I'm sure it was mostly because of her recent spay (she's had to wear the comfy cone because she's been licking at it a lot), but you could just tell she really needed time to decompress and regain her energy after leaving the shelter. It's a very overwhelming process and each of our fosters has dealt with it differently. When my alarm clock goes off each day, my dogs go bananas. Totally nutso. They spring into action, jump all over me, lick my face like crazy, bark like mad, and cry cry CRY until I finally sit up. See, alarm clock = breakfast. During this morning ritual, Jinny just kind of sits back and looks like what the heck are they making all this racket for...some of us are trying to sleep! Then something exciting happened yesterday: when my alarm clock went off and all the other dogs did their usual batty routine, I sat up to find Jinny standing alert in front of the bed and happily wiggling her butt. She was downright jolly! As soon as I opened the bedroom door, she bolted out with everyone else and did a very brief breakfast dance before deciding that was enough exertion for one day. It made me so happy to see her face brighten, even for just a few minutes. I love watching all of our fosters come out of their shells. It's such a rewarding process (even though sometimes ya wish they'd go back into their shells, just a little!).

Jinny gets a little more comfortable each day. Her toes look MUCH better and her coat is beautiful now that she's had a bath and two weeks of regular brushing. Jinny will go to the vet for her heartworm treatment shots soon. She'll stay the weekend at the vet's office, but once we pick her up I'll be sure to write a blog post all about how she's doing. Check out the video of her and the rest of my crew enjoying their bones from Park Pet Supply. Paws up for Jinny's progress!



Introducing Jinny, the Fairest Lass in all the Land

Jinny's intake photo at animal control

Another photo from AC

Meet sassy Miss Jinny, our newest foster gal! Jinny is a 5 (ish) year old rough coated Collie / Sheltie mix who weighs about 40 pounds. She's super sweet, very quiet, ever so polite, and just a really good girl. A DeKalb County animal control officer picked Jinny up as a stray in Doraville on June 9th. The shelter has been at max capacity recently and poor Jinny never made it into the relative safety of the adoptions ward. We pulled her from the main ward for Perfect Pets Rescue yesterday.

Drew grooming Jinny on Day 1

Jinny's poor dewclaws post trimming

Drew picked her name and prefers it spelled with a "J" instead of the conventional "G". I don't think it's ever taken us quite this long to name a dog before, but we wanted to take our time picking something feminine that suited her personality well. Jinny is short for Virginia, which means fair maiden. This seems to fit her nicely. 

What a lovely lady!

Jinny resting on Day 1

Jinny tested positive for heartworms, which means we'll have her for 3-4 months while she undergoes treatment. After that, she'll board the FODA transport bus and head up to PPR in Poughkeepsie, New York to await her forever home. She also had badly ingrown dewclaws; the claws grew so long that they wrapped around and pierced her toe pads. The shelter vet clipped them to an appropriate length while Jinny wasunder anesthesia for her spay procedure. They'll be swollen and sore for a while, but will heal with time and a little antibiotic assistance. Drew spent a good bit of time gently cutting mats out of her coat and washing away the dirt with a damp cloth, as she can't have a full bath until her spay incision fully heals. After that, she got a good thorough brushing. Her coat looks worlds better now and she's feeling much more comfortable without all those awful mats pulling her skin.

Bunkies & Jinny

Jinny appears to be completely housebroken. She also sleeps quietly in her crate at night and will retreat to it for afternoon naps when she needs a moment to herself. She doesn't mind the other dogs at all. Bunkin seems to think we brought Jinny home just for him. They are in collie mix heaven together (see photos). We are so happy to have Jinny in our home. It is an honor to help her on her journey toward forever.

Perfect Pets Rescue (PPR) is a wonderful group that pulls countless dogs from DeKalb County Animal Services and other area shelters. They make sure their foster dogs have everything they need. PPR really rocked the house this weekend when they pulled a small breed dog with NINE puppies, a staff & fan favorite Australian Kelpie named Sushi, and getting the ball rolling on an adorable young pup ALL in addition to placing Jinny with us. Paws big time UP for PPR! If you'd like to donate to PPR so they can continue their awesome work, please visit this page: http://www.perfectpetsrescue.org/donations-and-how-you-can-help.html

Total FURmination

Shedding sucks. It drives me crazy. Until Oliver came along, I'd had only short-haired dogs for the past ten years or so. When I was a kid we had a Husky and a Rottie/Lab/Shepherd mix, both of which shed tremendously, but I guess the tumbleweeds of fur rolling around never made an impression on me back then since I wasn't the one who had to clean them up. Oliver reminded me just how annoying shedding can be.

We try to keep a very clean house. Drew really stays on top of everything and specifically makes certain to vacuum every 3-4 days. Doing so with short-haired dogs isn't a problem at all. Anybody out there reading this who has ever had a Lab knows that we're talking about an entirely different level of shedding. Ollie's fur was killing our poor vacuum. All three dogs get baths each Sunday in the spare tub; we were going through a large jug of Drano every other week. Dog hair was taking over our lives.

Then we bought the Furminator. Everything changed. No more tumbleweeds, no more drain clogging, no more fur-coated dryer lint screen. I was skeptical that this simple little tool would be worth its $50 sticker price and reduce Ollie's shedding, but I am here to attest that the Furminator is worth its weight in gold. The first time we used it, we'd filled a grocery bag with Oliver hair in less than 30 minutes. A week later, I spent 45 minutes and filled another grocery bag. Not joking.

After using the Furminator just twice, Oliver's coat is smoother, shinier, softer, and comparatively shed-free. Hardly any fur came off of him at all the last time I gave him a bath. I don't think there's been such an awesome dog product since KONG toys first came out forever ago. The Furminator is simply unbelievable. It saved us from a tidal wave of dog hair and gives Oliver some relief from his uber shedding double coat. If your dog is a serious shedder, give this thing a try. Just be sure to use a regular brush to gently comb out any knots before using the Furminator. I can't recommend it highly enough!