Oliver's Houndiversary

Exactly one year ago today, Drew and I brought Oliver home from DeKalb County Animal Services. He had been at the shelter for a year and 27 days. There are only a handful of dogs that the shelter staff has managed to hang onto for such a long time. Ollie was a staff favorite and I cannot adequately thank the caring people at DeKalb who gave him such an extended reprieve. I'm not going to rehash all the details of Oliver's story (if you don't know his whole story, check out my previous blog posts). I just want to make a quick little blurb about how much we love this gentle soul and how thankful we are that he is in our lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the folks at the shelter, to Friends of Dekalb Animals for treating his heart worms, and to everyone who donated for his dental care/leg x-rays/arthritis care while we were fostering him. Happy Houndiversary, Oliver!

Bunkin's Story

Bunkin's Shelter Photo from Petfinder

Visit 1 at the shelter...pensive

Visit 2 at the Shelter...skinny

Today is Thanksgiving and I think it's a perfect opportunity to share Bunkin's story. Bunkin was our very first rescue dog. He came from a rural kill shelter outside of Tallahassee, where he was rotting in a concrete kennel suffering from sarcoptic mange ("scabies"). My childhood dog, Bandit, had just passed away three months before we adopted Bunkin. I knew I wanted another dog, but I planned to wait a while. Drew came down to Tallahassee to visit me one weekend and we decided to stop by Petco to see the pups available for adoption. After we left, Drew asked me what I thought about "that Bunkin dog". I hadn't even noticed him. Drew continued to mention Bunkin for the next several days, even after he'd gone back to Atlanta. I knew I had to find him. This was his heart dog, his canine soul mate. I called the Petco, found out which shelter had dogs on site the previous weekend, and asked for directions to their facility. I got in the car, drove to the middle of nowhere, and entered my very first animal shelter. The facility was awful. I had no idea what to expect and had zero experience with this sort of thing, so it hit me like a ton of bricks. The front desk woman was less than caring. She sat behind the counter filing her nails as a staff member tossed a dog up onto the counter, roughly jabbed a needle into its leg to draw blood, and didn't even bother to apply pressure afterward. The blood just trickled down the dog's leg and left little droplets on the counter next to the visitor form I was filling out. I had never smelled smells or heard racket like I did when they went back to get Bunkin. He scurried out, all skin and bones, and nervously led me out the front door. We walked, sniffed, talked, and enjoyed the fresh air from a picnic table out front. I could tell Bunkin was very smart, alert, and gentle. He had a knowing soul and his big black eyes betrayed the pain and loneliness he felt. He was so quiet, just sitting there staring off into the distance appreciating the moment of peace. I visited him for a few more minutes that first day before returning him to the awful lady at the front counter. I could hardly watch as she dragged him back into the kennel area; he slammed on the brakes and tried to dig his claws into the concrete to keep her from taking him back there. I was back three days later to visit again. After my second visit, I knew I had to get him out. Drew and I couldn't go a day without talking about him on the phone. We wanted to wait until our spring break so that Drew could come to Tallahassee for a few days and we could adopt him together. Three weeks after Drew first saw him at Petco, we drove to the shelter to rescue Bunkin.

Our adoption photo

$50. Our new best friend only cost fifty bucks. There were so many things that felt so wrong about that. No adoption form, no home check, no drivers' licenses requested. Just a $50 bill and a good riddance. Those three weeks were so tough, knowing Bunks was in that awful place. Knowing what I know now, I would have taken him home the first day I visited him rather than make him wait three more weeks. We were lucky he was still alive. Thankfully, it worked out for the best. Drew and I spent all of spring break getting to know our new buddy and helping him relax into his new home. It was so different for me, not knowing a dog's past, his age, his breed, anything at all really. But it didn't matter, not even for a minute. He was the sweetest, most grateful, gentlest little guy. He slept in Drew's lap the whole car ride back to Tallahassee from the shelter. It was like he hadn't slept in a thousand years. Knowing Bunkin as I do now, he probably hadn't. We took him to the vet, scheduled his neuter, and found out he had sarcoptic mange. It's caused by mites that burrow under the skin and lay their eggs, causing terrible itchiness that a dog can scratch at all they want but never make it stop. Bunks had big scabs and patches of red skin from scratching. It's highly contagious and my heart sank thinking of all the other dogs in that shelter itching away to no avail. It was easy to treat and we saw rapid improvement in just a couple of days. Bunkin put a couple pounds on and settled in quickly, although I'd say it took about 6 months for his full personality to shine through the scared shell of a dog we'd brought home on March 14, 2008. These days, Bunkies loves to curl up in a quiet corner and nap. He loves being outside in the yard, taking in the fresh air, watching the leaves fall from the trees, and keeping watch over his home. He loves his family. He loves getting his ears cleaned. He loves chips. He loves car rides.

As Drew's very first dog and my first rescue dog, Bunkin has a special place in our hearts. He lived with me in Tallahassee and kept me company until I finished college. Then he moved to Atlanta with Drew until we got married in 2009. As I think about all the dogs spending tonight without a family, it feels like a good time to reflect on our journey with Bunks. I am so thankful that Bunkin opened my heart and my eyes to the sea of homeless pets that are in shelters across our country. I will never turn my back on rescue and I will never forget that I have Bunkin to thank for this commitment. Happy Thanksgiving!

   

Best Buds

Update, July 8 2019: Drew and I said goodbye to our Bunkin boy today after 11 wonderful years with him. Bunkin began slowing down a month or two ago, and last week we discovered he had a type of cancerous growth in his mouth called a tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma. This is a very aggressive cancer and we knew our approach would be to simply keep him comfortable for as long as we could. We just didn't know we'd only have a week. The balancing point for managing Bunkin's comfort proved too elusive: too much prednisone and his IBD went crazy, but too little and his coughing fits returned; a smidge of tramadol to help ease the pain of his sore throat, but too much and he was barely present at all. Bunkin became a ghost of the dog he was just a month ago, a week ago even. We made the decision to let him go today. Over the years Bunkin was always terrible for veterinary procedures, so we were afraid that his last moments would be stressful and full of fear. Amazingly, Bunkin had formed a seemingly knowing connection with Dr. Collins, the vet I am assigned to at my new clinic. With Dr. Collins, Bunkin didn't need a muzzle. He didn't freak out or fight our efforts. He just seemed to be at ease and somehow knew he could trust Dr. Collins and her gentle spirit. This unbelievable peace gave Drew and I enormous comfort, along with the fact that I was able to be Bunkin's technician alongside Dr. Collins in his final moments. He went smoothly and easily with Drew and I crowded alongside him. We are also tremendously grateful to Paws, Whiskers, and Wags - the crematory where one of my dear co-workers spends the other half of her week - for their heartfelt care and sensitivity handling our doggo's remains. Bunkin will return to us in an adorable little pawprint box and he will keep my Bandit company on our dresser. Drew summed it up best when he said that we shouldn't be sad, but instead focus on what an awesome life Bunkin lived beside us - our whole married life plus a year. He got to ride out all of our adventures right along with us; this dog lived in three different states, traveled across the country not once but twice, trotted along the sandy shores of the East and West coasts, kayaked, hiked, got a DNA test, acted as the ambassador to so many foster siblings, introduced his daddy to the life of dogs, had a best doggy buddy by the name of Oliver, and grew truly old surrounded by love. This is the end of the "3 Brown Dogs" era. Thank you for letting us be your people, Bunkies. We love you tons, miss you lots, and will always remember your place in our hearts as our very first "brown dog". 

Our last photos with Bunkin

#3BrownDogs

Shelter Pups

I love Sundays. I usually go out to my local animal shelter for a couple of hours to walk dogs on Sunday afternoons. It's super rewarding and provides a great stress outlet both for me and the shelter dogs to get out in the fresh air together. The dogs crave going outside for exercise and socialization. I've seen several new volunteers walking at the shelter lately, which is so exciting. If you're looking for a great way to get involved in your community, go visit your local animal shelter and see if they need volunteers.

There's a common rescue mantra that goes something like, "If you can't adopt, foster. If you can't foster, volunteer. If you can't volunteer, donate. If you can't donate, network." The list goes on, but the point is that everyone can help out in a way that works for them. No method of help is too small or goes unnoticed. If you love photography, see if your local shelter could use help taking pictures of their animals and posting them to websites like Petfinder and Facebook. Photos are a hugely helpful tool in getting pets adopted. Many rescue groups need help transporting pets to and from foster homes, vets, and safe shelters. Volunteer drivers are always appreciated. If you have money but not much spare time, consider sponsoring a dog that needs heartworm treatment or do a little shopping for your local shelter. Mine has a supplies wish list (I'll post it below). There are very few people who are able to do all of these things, but if each of us does a little something, our efforts combine to make a giant difference for homeless animals.

Above all else, please spay and neuter your pets. Pet overpopulation is a massive problem across our nation. Our shelters may as well have revolving doors; mine has over 250 animals at any given point in time. If you're looking for a new furry friend, please adopt. There are so many homeless pets who are counting on us to give them a second chance at life. Our local shelters have all breeds, sizes, colors, and ages. Mine even has a few goats right now! Is it tough to see all the homeless animals at the shelter? Sure, but it's so worth it to know that you're helping in some way. So this is my little PSA blog post - now go get involved! It's fun, it's free, and it's good for the soul. These are pictures of some of the dogs I hung out with today and of course, the goats. Also, please check out the links below for DeKalb County Animal Services' wish list and available pets on their Adopt-A-Pet page.

DeKalb County Animal Services' Pets Available for Adoption: http://www.adoptapet.com/shelter74186-pets.html

DeKalb County Animal Services' Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/D1GX1DSCZA9W/ref=cm_sw_su_w

 

 

Shelter Kitties

Here's yet another post about cats on my dog blog. It's sort of a product plug, too. I had a bunch of cat shampoo leftover from Annie, so yesterday I used the rest of it to wash some of the shelter kitties. This stuff is really great: Vet's Best Waterless Cat Shampoo. It's just a foaming leave-on cleanser that you massage into the cats' fur. Surprise: they actually enjoy it!

I mentioned in my posts about Annie how difficult it is for cats, particularly kittens, to stay healthy in a shelter environment. I learned something kind of gross through fostering Annie, but it helped me begin to understand a little bit of what shelter cats go through. Cats are obsessive self-groomers. Most of us have seen a cat lick its leg a few times, swipe it over its face, and then repeat the process multiple times. Here's the thing, when cats are sick with an upper respiratory virus like Annie's, they don't stop grooming themselves just because they've got runny noses and goopy eyes. As the yucky stuff gets smeared on their legs and faces, they continue to lick and groom, which results in them ingesting and spreading the junk continually. Gross, I know, but I wouldn't have thought of it if the shelter staff hadn't explained it to me. I'm really glad they did. By the time Annie came home with us, her front legs were super covered in crusty old dried up glue. So the first thing we did was give her a bath with this shampoo. It loosened up the gunk enough to rub it away with a towel. Then once she dried, her fur was silky soft and good as new.
 
While I'm not claiming this shampoo is all a cat needs to kick a cold, it certainly helps give a better chance of recovery if the cat isn't re-contaminating itself 24/7. Of course getting out of the shelter is still the best thing for a cat, but in the meantime I figured I'd do this small little thing to maybe help some of them have a fighting chance. If nothing else, a few cats and kittens got some extra love, a great massage, and shiny fur to show off because of it. These are a few of the kitties I washed yesterday. They're all at DeKalb County Animal Services, just like Annie was, and they're all hoping to find furever homes where they can lead healthy and happy lives. More information on adoptable pets can be found on the shelter's Petfinder page: http://www.petfinder.com/pet-search?animal=&breed=&age=&size=&specialNeeds=&declawedPets=&children=&status=&id=&internal=&contact=&name=&shelterid=GA423&sort=&preview=

Also, here's an Amazon link if anyone is interested in the cat shampoo: http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Best-Clean-Waterless-Bath/dp/B0002AQN2M

Annie's Adoption

I normally like to write regular updates, but my behind-the-ball posting just means this entry is one big pile of great news: Annie is fully recovered and adopted!

After leaving the shelter, it only took about 2-3 days before Annie showed improvement. This little kitty really is a fighter. You can see her yucky runny nose in this first picture, taken just a couple of days after she moved in with us. Annie's strong playful spirit shines through in this picture, despite her condition. Once we washed all the snotty gunk off her fur with an awesome waterless cat shampoo, she turned into a silky soft cuddle buddy. She still looks little bitty here, but she quickly doubled in size as her health improved.

Annie loves toys so much. Her yellow spring made a huge splash, but her all-time favorites are little furry mice. Seeing her run and play like a healthy kitten made us feel awesome. She is so sweet and well-behaved. We hardly even knew she was here the first week we had her.

So many people ask how we could "give up" Annie. It's not a matter of giving her up, it's handing her over to the home she deserves. If you look back to my very first blog post, I voiced a similar concern about saying goodbye to a foster animal upon adoption. The emotional attachment is inevitable, but the reward of knowing you made a difference is so great. There are so many homeless pets out there who need foster homes, so we have to say goodbye to Annie in order to keep our door open to others who need her place.

Also, Annie deserved a much better home than we could have ever given her. Our three dogs thought she would make a tasty Scooby Snack and just could not control themselves around her. Poor Annie lived in an extra large dog crate in our guest closet while she was sick. Once she got better, we moved her to the laundry room where she could roam freely. Still, she was so lonely and bored. She only got about an hour of human interaction each day, which is far from what a cat craves. Although safe, healthy, and much better off than she had been at the shelter, Annie deserved more.

Annie's new mom is lucky to have such a wonderful kitty, but Annie is just as lucky to have a loving home where she can play and grow. Not only does Annie get a great mom, but she also has two feline siblings: Charlie and Kara. Kara is older, but Charlie is feisty and is very glad to have a new playmate to keep him entertained. Annie will never be bored or lonely again. (By the way, Annie had a brother who came into the shelter with her. He has since been adopted also!)

Annie's adoption is also a big deal for the shelter. She was DeKalb County Animal Services' very first foster animal and the very first to be adopted! We are so excited about the shelter's foster program and we hope to see it grow into a strong network. If you want to get involved, please let me know. This is an awesome way to help homeless animals get a fresh start and find the homes they deserve.

We couldn't have hoped for a better new beginning for little orphan Annie. Best wishes, kitty! 

So, we learned that we are definitely dog fosters. We managed, but it certainly was not an ideal situation for Annie or our own motley crew. Our dogs were really stressed and although Annie didn't seem to mind them one bit, it was not fair to keep her cooped up all the time. Nonetheless, she is safe, healthy, and happy now.

And hey, we did it! We fostered successfully! We are super excited to continue our foster journey. For now, we'll take a short break while I finish this semester. Maybe soon I'll get a chance to post an update on the dogs, since it's been so long. I think some new fun pictures are in order.

Annie the Kitten

I know this blog's title suggests that it will be all about dogs, but it turns out that's not the case. It's actually all about fostering. Yes, I created it thinking that I'd only be a foster dog mom, but alas, there is an unexpected twist around every corner in this life. I went to DeKalb County Animal Services yesterday for our weekly CHARM school dog socialization session. I came home +1 very sick little kitty. Her name is Annie and she is a 4 month old gray and white domestic shorthair. Those of you who know me know that I am a die hard dog person. It's not that I dislike cats, but rather that I know nothing of them and tend to prefer the warmth and companionship of the canine sort.

Regardless, it didn't take much to talk me into loading Annie up into the car last night. She came in as a stray and is suffering from a bad upper respiratory infection. It's very common for kittens to come down with URIs, but it's extremely difficult for them to recover in a stressful shelter environment. Annie was not improving. She went from snotty and wheezy to sneezing blood, even after being on antibiotics for two weeks. Infection is always rough on a small kitten's system. Annie was to be euthanized the next morning before the infection had a chance to ravage her poor little body.

Maybe I'm a sucker. Maybe I'm a madwoman. Maybe I should have talked to my husband before bringing home a cat. In case you haven't caught on, all of these "maybes" are certainties. In spite of my impulsiveness, Annie has a quiet place to sleep tonight. She is still sneezing blood, but she maintains a great energy level. She's a fighter and that's why the folks at DeKalb so desperately wanted to see her have a second chance. I'm not sure yet if she'll make it through, but we're doing our best to help her recover. Please share Annie's story. Once she regains her health, she will be available for adoption through DeKalb County Animal Services. Her information is listed here: http://www.adoptapet.com/pet/7734645-decatur-georgia-kitten

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!