Rory's Story

After haircut!

Before haircut...

Rewind to February 2019. It'd been almost a year and a half since Phinneas died and we had about zero interest in fostering since then. I'd fully immersed myself in my new job as a veterinary assistant and had nothing in the way of extra energy outside of work. Drew's travel took a serious uptick and fostering honestly didn't even register as a blip on our radar. Then came Rory.

Rory's story began as a puppy named Ross, when Ruff Dog Rescue found him and his sister abandoned in a metro Atlanta park. Rory got adopted from Ruff Dog at about six months old. His mom loved him dearly and Rory never left her side. Rory received his regular veterinary care from the hospital I worked at, so all my co-workers knew him well. I met Rory in November 2018 under very sad circumstances: his mom had a brain aneurysm and Rory came in to our hospital for emergency boarding while she had surgery. Rory's weekend stay quickly turned into a long-term, indefinite situation; his mom's recovery was not going as planned. After living in our hospital kennel for two weeks, we were able to contact Ruff Dog Rescue and secure a temporary foster home for Rory. He deserved a comfortable home environment for the holidays while waiting for his mom to recover. Not all rescues would have come to Rory's aid like this just because he'd fallen on hard times; there isn't always a space in foster care available or enough resources at hand. Ruff Dog pulled together and made it happen for him - thank you, RDR.

 

Rory sporting a blue mohawk at an event

Those butt pads though...

Unfortunately, Rory's mom's health took a turn for the worse. Three months after surgery, she still required a ventilator and had only just begun to sit up in her bed. She transferred to an acute care facility and Rory was not allowed to visit. His first foster mom needed a reprieve, so Drew and I tagged in to take Rory for a while. As Rory stayed with us in a state of limbo, we all dedicated ourselves to working on his weight problem. At his heaviest, Rory tipped the scales at a morbidly obese 102 pounds. Proper nutrition and adequate exercise made all the difference. While in boarding, Rory lost the first significant chunk of weight just from having structure: this is what you get to eat, when you get to eat it, and how much of it you get to eat, the end. No more people food, no free grazing, and no Big Gulp sized food cup. His first foster mom, Kristen, brought his weight down from the upper eighties to 76 pounds in the three months she had him. Three more months with us brought him all the way down to a svelte 54 pounds, his goal weight. You read that right: 102 to 54 in six months' time. That's 50% of his body weight - HALF OF RORY - chiseled away. Weight loss like this has to be done carefully, slowly, and in a calculated manner in order to be achieved safely. It's a lot of shock on the body to lose that much, and losing too much too quickly can be dangerous for the heart.

Rory's extreme makeover!

Keeping Rory on a low calorie food and constantly adjusting his food calculations as he continued to lose proved key. It's not like we ran marathons or anything - this is simply the difference appropriate feeding makes. I say all of this without judgment; we live in the South where food equals love in many people's minds. We call them "love feeders". All the veterinary consultation in the world sometimes isn't enough to make folks understand that dogs will almost always try to convince us they're starving - they're not. We had clients come in concerned that their obese family lab wasn't finishing his meals. My boss would tell them that he's "pushing away from the table" (i.e., he's full!) and that's him telling you he's had enough. No, you don't need to add gravy to entice him to finish his kibble. Really, he's good. There truly are only two ways an animal gets fat, excepting medical conditions: too much food and too little exercise. It's a straightforward concept, yet companion animal obesity is a pervasive problem we continue to see. Rory wrote the book and earned lovingly rude nicknames from us such as "house hippo" or "the great white whale" or "roropotamus". We actually had to pen him out of the dining room while we ate dinner to keep him from begging at the table!

I remember the first time Rory solicited a game of fetch. He'd never done this before; I threw the rope and he brought it back, giddy to repeat the process. I realized this meant he finally felt physically GOOD. That was a really rewarding moment as a foster mom. From this point on, there was no stopping him. Rory had arrived - and what he'd lost in body weight, BOY, did he make up for in personality! This boy trucked over everything in his path like the proverbial bull in the china shop. He found his voice, too. I'm still not sure what his breed mix is, but I have to think there may be some husky in there with the way he talks! [For the record, I think he is a pit / wheaten mix]. Rory has something to say about everything that goes on during the day. He is a talker, a lover, a people person, a real mush. During the time he spent with us, Rory became my shadow; he followed me around like a fluffy white cloud. Every time I'd have friends over - particularly girls - Rory plopped himself down right in front of them and shamelessly begged for love. He knows no such thing as personal space or too much affection, but now he knows structure and a healthy lifestyle!

After it became clear that Rory's mom was not going to recover to the extent that she'd be able to take him back, we began to look for a new forever home for our scruffy white ward. Rory came to us with zero leash manners, zero dog social skills, and zero understanding of how to act in group settings. Despite our hard work, he just did not show well at adoption events. People's fascination with his unique looks and the emotional pull of his sad story quickly evaporated into horror if another dog approached. Rory became possessive of his admirers, felt socially pressured, and exploded into high-pitched shrieks and off-putting snarls. Instantly, the endearingly quirky Heinz 57 who looked a mutant Jack Russell terrier morphed into a pit-mix scruff dragon who could convince anyone that he'd in fact eaten a whole family of Jackies. Sigh. All the creative marketing in the world, all the volunteer hours spent at events, and all the meet and greets I could muster would not matter an ounce if it wasn't the right fit for Rory...and then my sister spoke up.

 Ashley and Shawn met Rory a handful of times over the spring and summer, both with and without their three dogs: Bubba, Bellatrix LeStrange, and Sirius Black. They both were clearly taken with Rory's goofiness and affectionate nature, but I had no idea how serious they were about him until I'd just about given up hope. They'd fallen hard - and did I mention Rory didn't mind their dogs? Quite the opposite: he actually PLAYED with their dogs and for some reason blended right in like the fourth member of a zany jazz quartet. It hit me: my sister and her pack are exactly Rory's brand of crazy. After a whole lot of real talk and some logistical planning, Drew and I jumped into the car and hand delivered Rory to his new home in Florida. It was a seamless transition and it was right under our noses the whole time. Sometimes when it works, it just works. And that's the conclusion of this former white whale's tale. Happy forever, Rory! You deserve this so much!

Epilogue: We'd never done a foster case quite like this before with regard to the surrounding human element. Rory's former mom transferred to an assisted living facility up north near her family.  I don't want anything I've written here to come across as insensitive toward her circumstances or her love for Rory. Rory's - and his mom's - situation absolutely broke my heart. I can't imagine her sadness, her worry, her fears for him. I grappled with the implications of all of this for some time, hating that life dealt her such a terrible hand. All I can hope is that she knows Rory is happy, healthy, and loved forever.

Double Update: Rory's mom passed away in May; we didn't know until September, after he'd been adopted. I didn't know what to make of this at first, but I quickly chalked it up to Rory's serendipitous fate. Heartbreakingly sad as it may be, Rory's story worked out in the end. I'm so glad we worked proactively to give this guy a chance at a new future. Dogspeed to his former mama, and dogspeed to Rory and his future!

Peppercorn's Plight: Overcoming Undesirability

Chihuahuas. San Jose is absolutely overrun with them. The "market" is thoroughly saturated. Chis are a dime a dozen out here. Nobody wants them, especially if they're less than perfect. You mark? You bark? You've got a heart murmur? Luxating patella? Bad skin/coat? Allergies? You're less than perfectly socialized? You're a tan/brown male? Forget it. Those are just some of the initial obstacles so many of our Chihuahuas face. Nobody wants any of that. It's easier to find rescue for Chis who weigh four pounds or less; their teeny tiny size ups their desirability factor. It's easier to find rescue for Chis with super cool coloring or some kind of unique feature. When you're plain old tan or brown and look like every other Chi on the street, you get overlooked. It's easier to find rescue for super duper friendly Chis. If you've got half a brain in your head and prefer to warm up to people as you get to know them, you're a disappointment. So why in the world do we work so hard to save these less than desirable Chis that nobody wants and will be a struggle to get adopted? Why do we bother? Peppercorn's story explains it quite well.

Pepper's intake photo

Shelter staff found Peppercorn left in a box with some junky kibble outside the owner surrender door. He came in neutered and already knew how to sit on command, so it seems he belonged to someone at some point. We'll never know if his former owners were the people who left him in the box, or if someone else found him as a stray and turned him in like that. Either way, people failed Pepper somewhere along the line. He was terrified, fear aggressive, and shelter staff were unable to handle him to even find out if he was male or female. He was 938188, "Unknown" of "unknown age" and "unknown sex". This happens a lot, but his intake photo was so pathetic that I had to go check him out.

When I met Peppercorn, he was lying toward the back of his kennel on a blanket, throwing some serious side-eye shade just like in his intake photo. He let us leash him up and trotted out just fine. Once we got in the courtyard, he explored the perimeter and didn't show much interest in either of us. He responded well to treats and took them from me without breaking eye contact - still so distrustful, understandably. I pet him a couple times, but he made it clear that he preferred to keep his distance and sit a few feet from me. When it came time to put him back in his kennel, he flipped his lid and threw a tantrum about being leashed. It wasn't pretty. Still, something about him resonated with me. His eyes? Everyone says it's his eyes. I don't know. I think it's just that I know all too well the likely fate of these guys. That combined with being pretty certain that this was someone's dog at one point. I knew advocating this one wasn't going to be easy - he was a homely, unfriendly, average sized male Chihuahua who had nothing really going for him at all. That sounds awful, but it's the hard truth. I knew I had to break out the big guns and really find a way to pull on people's heartstrings if I wanted a shot at saving this one. And even then, I knew I'd be unlikely to succeed. So, I made the saddest video montage I could possibly manage and we began networking the dickens out of him. We settled on the name "Peppercorn" because he's small, black, and just a tad spicy. You've got to watch his sad video in order to appreciate his situation. I promise, there are happy ones to balance it. Here it is:

I don't usually make videos so sad like that, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It got people's attention. I can't do it like that every time, or it loses its effect. I usually like to make them happy and cute so that folks are more inclined to watch. When everything is sad and hard to watch, people stop paying attention. Fortunately, a little well-timed sadness proved helpful to Pepper. Turns out, Pepper's sad video got over 7,000 views thanks to San Jose Animal Advocates. Now we just needed the right person to see his video and feel moved enough to help us help him. The shelter staff extended his date so many times for me and kept working on socializing him. They made such a huge difference for Pepper - when we finally found someone interested in fostering him, he was practically a different dog thanks to the shelter staff's efforts. Had they not have spent time working with him, I seriously doubt the foster meet & greet would have gone so well. Tina and Alyssa - thank you. The potential foster mom brought her little long-haired Chihuahua (Marshmallow) to the shelter to meet Pepper, along with another "test" dog (Taco) to help break the ice. Check out what a difference the shelter staff made with him and how much he enjoyed meeting the other dogs:

After sleeping on it for a night, Jenna decided to foster Peppercorn. Turns out, even though he wouldn't let her pet him until an hour into our visit, she fell in love with his haunting eyes. Thanks to Jake's Wish Dog Rescue, I pulled him the next day and brought him home with me to get cleaned up. After a shower, a nail trim, and an ear cleaning, Pepper slept like a rock on his first night out of the shelter. We outfitted him with a proper collar and harness and delivered him to Jenna the next day.

We would not have been able to save this dog without Jenna. He had no rescue interest and we had no other foster candidates. He was so out of time it wasn't even funny. I had so little hope of saving him from the get go that I didn't even want to give him a name. Thank you, Georgia, for that. Because Jenna decided to take the plunge, Pepper gets to live.

Jenna has done an amazing job with Pepper so far. Taking on a difficult case like this as a first time foster mom is no small task. She's a rockstar and Pepper is showing so much progress day after day. He absolutely loves his foster brother, Marshmallow, and even adores his human foster sister, Alyssa. Alyssa is a special 12 year old - she has a deep understanding of animals and Pepper is obviously able to pick up on her sensitivity. Alyssa reports that Pepper loves head rubs and neck rubs. She even wrote his Petfinder page biography!

Peppercorn is getting closer to being ready for his forever home every day. He needs to go to a home with at least one other small dog. He values Marshmallow's companionship and draws a great deal of confidence and comfort from his presence. Little Marshy, at 2.8 pounds, is Pepper's role model. How cute is that?! He has brought Pepper out of his shell and helped remind him how to DOG, as we say. Pepper's really blossoming into a good little dog. He's learning to trust his people more each day and his behavior at home is really spot on. He's not a barker - even when his foster mom comes home after a long day at work, Pepper just quietly bounces up and down waiting for her affection. No barking, no crying. He takes his treats gently, eats his food like a champ, goes potty where he's supposed to, and goes straight into his crate at bedtime without hesitation. Don't believe it? See for yourself how far he's come in this video:

See? Told you his foster mom is a rockstar! The only thing Pepper is still working on is trusting people outside of the home. Remember, he's a little spicy as we say, so once he's had enough he lets you know he's done. That's ok though - it's very valuable to have a dog who gives good warnings like that. Growling is Pepper's way of communicating to us that he has had enough social time and would like his space now. That's honestly no different than with people. At home, he can go to his bed or his crate when he needs his space. He's doing a good job with that. When he's at an adoption event, it's a bit tougher for him to cope because there's no break from the action. So, Pepper needs all the help he can get finding a forever home. He needs people who can see past his scared exterior to the endearing little dog that lives beneath the facade. We know that may take some time, longer than most, but that's ok. We will wait as long as needed for Pepper's perfect match to find him. He has the luxury of time now, you see? Time, patience, love, and commitment. Those are so important to success for any dog, but especially for dogs like Pepper who need a little extra. Thank you, Jenna, for giving him these things in preparation for his furever. If you're interested in applying to adopt Pepper, please email info@jakeswishrescue.org for more information. In the meantime, please share this post, his videos, his photos, and his Petfinder page far and wide to help us find his furever home: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31950316

So, why do we bother with "undesirable" Chihuahuas like Peppercorn? Because they need our help the most. We worked overtime for Pepper because we knew there was more to him than sadness. He deserves a chance at happiness and comfort just as much as those three pound Chihuahuas, those happy go lucky puppies, those purebred pedigreed show dogs, and every other creature out there. He just needs a little extra help getting there. That's what we do. That's what rescue is all about. If I stop advocating dogs like Peppercorn, I lose a big part of my purpose. Thank you, Jake's Wish, for taking a stand with me and committing to yet another underdog like Peppercorn. Thank you, Jenna, for opening your home to him and working so hard to make him "desirable". His furever will come.

6/6/15 PUPDATE on Peppercorn: Drew

and I are now fostering Pepper. After spending a month with Jenna, he had to come to us when her dog started having health troubles. Pepper is still quite "peppery" (read: temperamental, cranky, particular, and prone to temper tantrums), but he is progressing a bit each day. He still spends most of his time in his crate (of his own volition - it's his comfort zone), but he's starting to come out more and more. His favorite spot is on the arm of the couch next to the sliding glass door where he can nap in the sun and watch hummingbirds drinking from the balcony feeder. He's becoming more open to cuddling and loves blankets. Once in a while, if he's in a good mood, he'll play a round of tug. For Pepper, tug involves a lot of nasty noises and frustration release. He still tries to get the other dogs to play with him, although they aren't interested. We are working on potty training - he still marks if we don't keep an eye on him. Pepper went to the vet last week and got a clean bill of health other than dental tartar. The vet said his ears look ragged because they were chewed up by another animal. Who knows for sure, but the bottom line is that there's nothing we can do to make them look better. They're just a testament to his hard knocks. Anyhow, Pepper isn't ready for adoption just yet, but he is making strides in that direction. We will continue to work on socialization and everyday coping skills in the meantime. It's going to be a challenge to get him adopted. We will need all the help we can get spreading the word about Pepper's plight. Stay tuned for more pupdates on Peppercorn!

8/3/15 UPDATE: After a couple months with us, Peppercorn's behavior seemed to plateau. He wasn't showing much improvement and seemed to be withdrawn all the time. He spent most of his time in his crate (voluntarily) or on a dog bed in a corner with his back toward everyone else. I began to wonder whether he'd do better as an only dog in a quieter home. We do have a lot of dogs and while he did ok with them, I wanted to make sure he had a chance to reach his full potential. He'd become super easy and part of our routine, so no extra bother to us, but he just wasn't becoming more adoptable. Given these observations, we made the decision to "trade" Peppercorn with another foster home in exchange for the two foster Chis that this other foster person had. He's now the only dog in his foster home and enjoys that immensely. When he comes to events and is around other dogs, he has the capacity to behave nicely around them because he's not burnt out from having so many dogs around constantly. His foster dad understands that he's not a snuggler and is completely ok with that. Pepper appreciates the space and respect he's given and they seem to really have a well-balanced relationship. He sleeps at the foot of his foster dad's bed and waits for him by the door when he comes home from work. Pepper prefers human males over females and he definitely seems to do better as an only critter. He needs an adopter who won't mind that he isn't overly affectionate - someone who doesn't want to cuddle much or pick him up and baby talk to him. That's just not his jam. And that's ok. So, I'm really glad he's doing well. It was hard to let him go, but this is definitely a step in the right direction for Peppercorn. Paws crossed we can find someone like his foster dad who is looking to adopt!

Waffles, Chicken and

Intake photo showing injured foot and shock collar

Every morning, our shelter's "needs rescue" list is emailed to me and a bunch of other local rescue representatives. Almost a month ago, a little Dachshund mix with an injured paw showed up on the list. He was wearing a shock collar and had the most awful tear stains. Drew said he looked like he'd been crying for days. His eyes stared through his intake photo at me and begged for help. Sometimes you can just see their gentle souls through their eyes. This was one of those dogs. I knew him as SB02, his kennel number. We started calling him "foot dog", which wasn't really much better than SB02.

Drew and I went to meet him & we knew we had to have him. I went inside his kennel and sat down next to him to get some better pictures and an idea of his demeanor. Despite all the pain he must have been in, he was so sweet and loving. He hobbled over next to me and laid down while I rubbed his ears. He was so much cuter in person than in his intake photo - young, white and cream colored, super soft, and stretchy like a wiener mix. Oh, and he had the most fantastic overbite I'd ever seen. He reminded me of derp master Tuna of internet fame: http://www.tunameltsmyheart.com/

Waffles in his kennel at the shelter

A few days later, we pulled "foot dog" under Jake's Wish Dog Rescue and brought him home to safety. He hopped out of the shelter like a champ on three legs. Nothing was going to stand in his way - he was heading for the good life now. It was so sad knowing he belonged to someone who bothered to put a shock collar on him, but didn't bother to go looking for him when he ended up in the shelter. A lovely owner, for sure. And no - he's not a barky guy. His foot looked rough, so I bandaged it for the first day we had him in order to keep him from stress licking. This made it worse, so we went open air healing and cone of shame from that point on until it dried up enough to stop oozing. We suspected he'd gotten hit by a car. He had a few other minor scrapes and bruises on his body, but just the bad one on his foot. Fortunately, x-rays showed no broken bones. After our experience with Raven's horrible carpal wound, which was far worse than this guy's, we knew we could get him fixed up no problem. You can read my main post on Raven's story here: http://ohfortheloveofdogs.blogspot.com/2013/10/raven-rough-start-for-sweet-girl.html

Waffles and his derptastic overbite

We needed to come up with a name for "foot dog", so we enlisted the help of Facebook and asked our friends to chime in. One of our friends in Chicago suggested "Waffles". We are from Atlanta where chicken and waffles is sort of a popular thing, however goofy it may seem. We decided to go with Waffles because of his goofy personality. He needed a silly sort of name. Turns out a lot of Californians don't really understand the whole chicken and waffles bit, but oh well. Waffles it is. As with every dog who comes through our house, Waffles has loads of nicknames: Waffy, Waffular, Chicken And, Waffle Taco, and Waffle Cone while he had to wear the cone of shame. I mean, really, how could we resist? 

Waffles enjoying the comfy couch

Waffles has the best personality ever. He's so ridiculously excited about life itself - it's contagious. He's happy-go-lucky, wiggly, snuggly, lovey, and just downright aderpable. I love his zest for life and his enthusiasm for everything. He's always happy to see you and he's never met a stranger. He loves other dogs and gets everyone to play. I just love his spirit. He's really a special little guy. Waffles will make a fantastic family dog. He'd love to have kids and other dogs to play with, then snuggle up with the family at night. It's just so wonderful to see him enjoying a comfortable life with the promise of safety and love. He deserves nothing less.

Earlier this week, Drew and I traded foster dogs with our rescue friends. Waffles went to their house and we took their foster, Mischa, who needs a change of scenery and extra socialization. Waffles is doing great at their house so far. He's got his favorite spot on the couch all figured out and he's loving their other dogs. I took him to the vet for a foot check up this morning. It's healing really nicely, with the exception of one toe. The nail looks pretty dead and will likely fall off, but that's ok. He's on antibiotics to ward off infection and he gets his foot soaked twice daily in a medicated rinse. How nice...anyhow, you can see how much progress his foot has made in just four short weeks! It's pretty amazing how resilient dogs are and how well they heal. Hopefully that toe improves.

Waffles is bearing weight pretty well on all fours. He still goes to three legs when he runs really fast or if he's feeling lazy, but for the most part I think he'll go back to walking normally once he's completely healed. He should be ready for adoption events in another week or so. Waffles is just such a special little critter. He's going to make someone out there super happy, we know it. He makes us laugh every day with his goofy face and wiggly booty. Then he melts our hearts when he curls up for snuggles in the evening. We're thankful that he gets to have a life beyond the identity of "foot dog" and that he finally knows what love feels like. Stay tuned for more on this low-rider goofball as he continues his journey toward furever! He's listed on Petfinder here if you'd like more adoption information: https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31509770

Blue Belton Buck: A Glimpse into the Future

Wow, a lot has happened since I last posted! Our boy Buck had his eye surgery on June 17. All went very well; Dr. Burling removed the cataract from his right eye and replaced it with an artificial lens. To be honest, the first night was a bit anticlimactic. Buck was so drunk and disoriented from the anesthesia that he didn't really have much of an "I can see" moment. Regardless, we filmed his grand entrance post-surgery to share with everyone. You can hear Dr. Burling describe his immediate post-op vision as "a little funky" in the video. Here it is:

Day 2 was awful. Buck was uncomfortable, his eye was inflamed, and he required more assistance than he did before the surgery. Dr. Burling warned us this would be the case, so we weren't disheartened. Still, seeing him struggle so much was difficult. He barely opened his right eye at all. We went back for his first post-op re-check and Dr. Burling said everything looked fine, so home we went for more rest in hopes of a better Day 3.

Buck's right eye before & after

We didn't really see much improvement until Day 4. Buck's eye stayed open most of the time by this point and he felt much better. We could see how clear and beautiful his eye looked without the cloudy cataract (see the photo to the right for before & after). For the first 10 days after surgery, I gave Buck three different types of eye drops six times every day to reduce inflammation, exercise the pupil, and prevent scar tissue from forming. He's a trooper and doesn't mind the drops at all. Now we are down to three types of drops four times per day, but starting tomorrow we're dropping down to three times per day. Ultimately, Buck will only need one type of drop once per day. We'll get there!

Such a baby!

Last week we noticed some increased cloudiness, so Buck went back to Dr. Burling for a tissue plasminogen injection that dissolved the cobwebby fibers forming in his eye. No biggie! During this visit, Dr. Burling noticed a minor vitreous hemorrhage as well. This means there's a little bit of blood between the retina and the lens. Although this hemorrhage doesn't mean the retina definitely will detach, it's an indicator of heightened risk of detachment. It's something Dr. Burling will continue to re-check, but we can't guarantee that Buck will retain his vision indefinitely. She says that usually three-month post-surgery is the "out of the woods" marker for retinal detachment. So far, so good. Paws crossed for smooth sailing! Today marks two weeks since Buck's surgery and he's doing great. We've hit a couple minor bumps along the road, but overall Dr. Burling says everything looks pretty darn good. Buck had his third re-check yesterday and he'll go back for his fourth next week.

Buck & his Crinkly Cajun Croc!

We've seen a tremendous difference in Buck's quality of life since his surgery. He is happy all the time, gets excited about everything, and gets around with no trouble at all. He jumps up on the couch and cuddles up next to us while we watch TV. He doesn't cry and whimper when we leave the room anymore. He even jumped up into the truck all by himself to go to his check-up! Most exciting of all, Buck PLAYED with a TOY for the very first time since we've had him last night! It was such a cool thing to see. He'd never shown interest in toys before his surgery. Sometimes we could tell he was excited and wanted to play, but he didn't know how to play without being able to see. Well, Auntie Melissa sent me home with some new toys for my crew yesterday. On a whim, I introduced one of the new toys to Buck. Lo and behold, he chomped at it! Before I knew it, he was tossing it around and chewing on it like a champ. So awesome! THIS was truly a tremendous moment. Enjoy the video:

Buck also enjoys going for walks now much more than he did pre-surgery. He's a great loose-leash walker and he lets you know when he's ready to turn around and head home. To see how well he's navigating since his surgery and to get a glimpse of his spectacular leash manners, check out this video (sorry about the noisy wind!). That's all for now. Buck's walking into the next chapter of his life...never looking back!

Pupdate: Lucy's FHO Recovery

Incision 1 day post-FHO (left) vs. 1 week post-FHO (right)

Here's a quick pupdate on Miss Lucy, now nicknamed Lucille when we're feeling fancy. Her FHO was one week ago today and she's recovering beautifully. I am always amazed by how smoothly and quickly dogs recover from FHO. We've been doing the little physical therapy exercises with her for a few minutes each day. It's simple stuff: rotating the hip like she's riding a bicycle and gently shifting her balance so she puts weight on the healing leg. After her surgery, she kind of let her leg just dangle while standing or walking. Yesterday I saw her stand firmly on all four feet when she was outside. Hurray! She's beginning to put a little bit of weight on it when she walks now, too. So that's great news. The incision looks awesome; Liza wasn't kidding when she said Dr. Scherrer is a suture wizard. He didn't even have to use staples. Check out the picture of how great it looks. Her spay site looks great, too. Dr. Tyson's incisions are always SO TINY, it's completely nuts. Lucy's is no exception; it's practically invisible. So all's well on the post-op front. Here's the link to my post about her surgery if you haven't seen it already: http://ohfortheloveofdogs.blogspot.com/2014/04/behind-scenes-lucys-fho.html

  

As for everyday life with Lucy, things are going quite well. Lucy is very much a part of our pack at this point. She knows the routine and is gaining more confidence each day. You'll remember I mentioned Lucy had pretty intense separation anxiety. She's improving. Although we finally gave up on crating her overnight (she sleeps in our bed now with us and the other three dogs, oye), she is learning to become more independent little by little. She definitely still prefers to be snuggled up on top of me whenever possible, but she no longer totally freaks out if I walk around the corner. She'll run right outside with the other dogs now when it's time to potty, whereas she used to insist one of us went outside

Catching some rays with foster mom

first before she'd follow. Occasionally I'll find her curled up in a dog bed or on the rug across the room rather than right under my feet. That's major improvement. She's learning how to be a dog. I credit my three dogs with guiding her through a lot of this. I find it's very helpful to have other pack members show a new dog the ropes and help them fall into routine. The new dog draws security and comfort from the confidence of the established dogs. By emulating their routine, Lucy is feeling more comfortable with each passing day. We're super proud of her. She's going to be a really great little pup for someone. Keep up the good work, Lucy! You've got this in the bag!

Ahoy, Mateys! Lefty / Cap'n Jack Pupdate!

Shiver me timbers, I'm home!

Pawsome news: Lefty is home again! He spent Sunday night through Wednesday (today) afternoon at the vet being treated for his tummy ailments. I finally got to pick him up just an hour ago and he is very happy to be home with all his buddies again. Oliver missed playing with The Whack Attack! That's what we call Lefty...Wacky Jacky converted to The Whack Attack because he's so nutsy. So, he's home and doing just fine so far.

WHAT, I have to get another bath?!

The vets couldn't quite put their fingers on what caused his massive upset, but they're suggesting it was a combination of the Rimadyl, maybe a little something viral, and possibly worms or intestinal infection. They finally got the multi-point explosions to cease, thank goodness. They sent me home with the works for upset tummy: Fortiflora to help firm things up, Carafate to coat the belly, Panacur just in case he is wormy, and of course the fabulous miracle-working Metronidazole. Metro seriously solves every single tummy problem imaginable. That stuff is magic. So, Wacky Jacky should be good to go from here.

Lefty had has staples and sutures taken out while he was there for his tummy issues, too. His leg looks GREAT. Check out the before and after. His fur will grow back and he will look perfectly good as new! The eye looks great, too. You wouldn't even notice he's missing one at first glance. We are to continue doing the physical therapy exercises for the leg: bicycle rotating it when he's on the couch and shifting his weight to the healing side when he's standing. Barring any more surprise catastrophes, Lefty should be ready to head north in a week or two. Check out the video below to see Wacky Jacky in action (from a week ago).

Me foster mum says I should have me a bit of a lie-down

Yaaaarr, 'tis true mateys, I be a tired scaliwag!

Lefty: On the Road to Recovery

Hey, my eye looks GREAT!

Lefty / Cap'n Jack had his femoral head ostectomy (FHO) on Friday. FHO is a major surgery in which they remove the ball joint (femoral head) part of the hip/leg. This leaves the femur free-floating. While this sounds extreme, Lefty is much better off without the fractured, dying, inflamed part of the bone. Leaving the femoral head in place like that would invite prolonged pain and infection. So, in a small dog like Lefty it's much better to just remove the damaged bone.

The vet told us that Lefty's leg injury was worse than they expected. Once in surgery, the vet found that the fracture continued farther down the femur and caused a great deal of inflammation. He had to burrow into the bone and smooth out the fracture line in order to prevent continued inflammation and spurs. This meant cutting into a lot more of Lefty's muscle and delicately navigating around nerves. Needless to say, this is very painful. Lefty was originally slated to come home on Saturday, but due to the amount of bleeding and extensive incision the vet thought it'd be best for him to stay another night. So, I picked Lefty up this afternoon. Aside from his hind end being shaved and the line of staples running down his leg, you'd never know he went through so much trauma. Good ole Jacky came around the corner with the same feisty grin on his face he had when I dropped him off. In just a few short weeks, Lefty will be able to function fully despite missing part of his hip. Just goes to show how remarkable and resilient dogs truly are.

Lefty's FHO incision 2 days after surgery

While he was under, the vet went ahead and neutered Lefty. He also had his eye stitches removed. The eye looks fantastic. I am so pleased with how everything has turned out for Jacky so far! He did great during all of his surgeries and has been an absolute recovery champ. I'll begin helping Lefty do some physical therapy in a couple days. The vet recommended simple balance and weight shifting exercises to help him begin using his leg again. All I have to do is lightly press on his good hip so he'll shift his weight to the recovering hip. That's it! That's enough to stimulate the muscles for now. He's still mostly on crate rest and confined to short slow leash walks, but in a week or so the vet said I can expect to see him tip-toeing instead of carrying that leg. That will be an exciting moment!

Look at that handsome face!

More pawsome news: Jacky can wear the comfy cone now that his eye is healed! No more sharp plastic e-collar! Everybody is so thrilled about this, although I already miss his fancy pirate tape. But check out his super cool brindle striped skin where they shaved him! Wacky Jacky's got tiger blood in him...no wonder he's such a tough cookie! And have you noticed his adorable alfalfa?! Squeeeeee!

Lefty goes back to Village Vets to have his staples removed in about two weeks. Then he'll be all ready to head up north to the amazing PPR folks, weather and health permitting. I can't wait to see him all healed and happy in his forever home! He is going to make somebody a wonderful companion.

To help PPR with Lefty's vet bills, please click here: http://www.perfectpetsrescue.org/donations-and-how-you-can-help.html

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

Raven's Journey Continues: From Shelter to Sanctuary

5 weeks of healing!

We handed Miss Raven off to Canine Pet Rescue this evening. During her time at CPR, Raven will learn how to be a real GSD. She'll go through CPR's awesome training program, get to hang out with other German Shepherds at CPR's pristine kennel, enjoy the fresh Georgia country air, and build her leg strength back up. I can't wait to see super happy pictures of her romping in the fields and maybe even doing some bite work! Most of all, I will be so very happy to see her leg finish healing. This is Raven's fifth week out of the shelter and her leg, as you saw in my last blog post, has come so far. Dogs' healing powers amaze me. Clearly there's some Wolverine DNA in there somewhere. I know you're probably tired of the gory injury photos, but I can't help myself. Seriously, look at the difference!

She's just a big lovey goofball

Raven is going to make somebody an awesome family dog. While it seems she needs to be an only dog, she is great with kids. Miss Ray loves to lay on the couch or on the floor nearby her people. As long as she can be near you, she's a happy camper. She loves to play fetch and is a pro at "sit". Hey, come on, even I can teach a German Shepherd how to sit! She seriously sat the first time I asked and looked at me like, "Are you for real lady, this is all you've got?" Raven's so smart...I'm just thrilled that she's going to get all the mental stimulation and exercise she's been craving. I love my Chis and terriers, but there's just something extra special about having a highly intelligent dog that sees you as a partner.

Having said that, super smart dogs are a lot of work. We're tired. Our dogs are tired. Raven is the only one who isn't tired. She's ready to rock and roll at CPR and her leg isn't holding her back anymore. She's going to thrive. I'll post any pictures I get of Raven in her element at CPR and certainly her happy tail picture when she finds her furever home. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on some pictures of her leg after it's entirely healed, too. Be sure to check out the old video below of Raven enjoying her doggy bed and wagging her tail.

Good luck, Ravie Rave!

So if you or someone you know is looking for a Georgia German Shepherd, please help us network these amazing dogs by liking/sharing CPR's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/caninerescue

If you'd like to donate to Canine Pet Rescue so they can continue to help other dogs like Raven, please follow this link: http://www.caninepetrescue.com/how-you-can-help/donate.html